The Heartbreaker and the Cultivator
by XSomeGuyX
Summary: A small lapse of judgment on Rarity's part sets in motion a series of events leading to realization, admission and development of the feelings of three mares for Spike. How will this affect their friendship? Who will win his love? Read and find! Revision of this story is being done on the early chapters to fix any grammatical and mechanical errors, as well as to improve the story.
1. A Work Pony's Cure

**A Work Pony's Cure**

AN: Yo! I decided to begin revisions on the beginning chapters of this story to improve it as a whole. How better to do that then go back and polish these chapters? I hope you knew readers enjoy it. If you're one of my faithful readers, not too many changes have been made and none are too big. Just a few changes to the dialogue and a little more detail here and there and some fixes to missing commas and missing words, etc. Please: Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

Recent times had been emotionally hard on Ponyville's only dragon, Rarity had buried herself in her work and Twilight had as well, neither made much time to spend it with him, but he did not mind too much. Spike knew that both were busy pursuing their dreams, Rarity as a high end, renowned designer and Twilight in her quest to impress and serve the Princess, and today was no different. After an early morning of helping Twilight organize and find some books for her studies, he had gone out on a gem hunt to replenish Rarity's supply that had run low from all the designs she had been working on. The little, purple dragon had high hopes that this would win him some points with the elegant unicorn. He happily hummed a lighthearted tune as he pulled his little wagon along behind him.

Fortunately for Spike, his little gem hunt went very well. He had filled his wagon as much as he could as the gems created a very unstable mound on it. He had actually found too many for them to fit on the tiny wagon and so he had to make the "sacrifice" and eat the excess gems. However, they were not enough to satisfy him, and for a moment, he thought of consuming the rest of the hoard, but he snapped out of it when he remembered they were for his "Lady Rarity."

Finally back in town, the young dragon began making his way to his crush's boutique. After all his digging though, he realized his scales were coated with dried mud and dirt, a state he knew all too well Rarity would not appreciate him being in her shop. So, he changed directions and now headed through the park to his library-home.

"I hope Twilight doesn't mind too much!" Spiked laughed as he dragged his load behind him. But as his home came into view, the young assistant also spotted the white unicorn that held his affection for so long. "RARITY!"

"Oh, do you know this… dragon…?" another voice asked. It was the famous pony Photo Finish and she had apparently been talking to Rarity.

"Oh… umm…" Rarity stammered. She had finally landed a second chance to impress Photo Finish and it was most likely her last as well. The unicorn saw the expression of repulsion on the photographer's face as she looked at the dirty dragon. This photographer could potentially get her the type publicity that the young dress maker wanted, but if she was unimpressed by the company she kept then she might lose what chance she had with her. She could feel the pressure put on her as she bit down on her lip and she forced an answer out of herself. "Oh... don't worry about him... he's nobody."

"But Rarity…" the young dragon said as tears swelled up in his eyes.

"Good! Vee have much to do! Vee go!" the pony photographer said as she pushed the white unicorn with her to some unknown location.

Spike was dumbfounded; he could not believe that Rarity just said that he was a nobody. After all he had done for her, she still said that. He spent much of his own free time at her boutique, helping her with anything she could possibly need. He was not stupid dragon; he had known why she did it. Of course it was her dream to become a famous fashion designer but to dismiss him as a friend to make it to the top, it made his temper boil, but, more so, it depressed him to think of how low on the chain he must be for her.

* * *

The library had been quiet while Spike was gone on his gem hunt, and, as usual, Twilight had taken this time to reread some of her favorite books. But a sudden slam of the front door had stopped her "exhilarating" hobby. It was her assistant, but he was not his normal cheery, and slightly cocky, self. His irritation was obvious from the way he stomped without caring about the work both had put in that morning cleaning the entire library. She able see it in his face as well, narrowed eyes, furrowed brows, and pouting lips. She could even hear as he mumbled angrily to himself and forcibly exhaled from his nose, creating small puffs of smoke as he did.

"Spike!" Twilight called out to him as she levitated the falling jewels back onto the pile on his wagon. "Spike? Is everything all right?"

The only response she received from her disgruntled assistant was a couple of unintelligible mumbles as he marched up the stairs with an armful of gems. Throwing the gems next to his basket-bed, he wrapped himself tightly against in his tiny bed, often grabbing a gem to eat from the pile he made.

"Spike?" Twilight asked but was given no response from the young dragon. "Spike, you know you can talk to me about anything."

Just as he was about to say something, Spike caught a look at his friend's horn, reminding him of the unicorn that had brushed him off. Again, his eyes filled with tears as he turned back and continued his mumbling and gem eating.

"Spike?" the purple unicorn called again. "Spike!"

But the young dragon no longer gave any response. He simply turned over and acted as if no one was there. Given his strong resistance to her attempts to have him talk what had happened, Twilight knew would not be easy for her to cheer him up. Worrying for her friend, Twilight left the library, hoping to find something or somepony that could help.

"I'll be right back, Spike! I promise!" Twilight told the dragon, who merely shuffled in his bed.

* * *

By the time the unicorn had returned, Spike had already eaten half the mountain of precious stones he had dug up but it still gave him no joy. The empty feeling he had from his dismissal by his long-time love was nothing he had ever felt before, it was like a black hole opened up inside of him and sucked away every positive, pleasant emotion each time he thought of his run-in with Rarity, and not even all the gems in the world would be able to fill him.

"Spike?" Twilight called as she entered her tree-house. "I brought someponies that would like to talk to you!"

"OH SPI-I-IKE!" their pink friend called out. "I've got a surprise rise for you!"

Pinkie Pie gleefully skipped up the stairs with a large gift box with an equally oversized ribbon on it, but she was not alone as Twilight and Applejack, were following not too far behind.

"So ya have no clue why he's down?" the farm pony asked.

"Nope, he came with his wagon and wrapped himself up in his bed," the unicorn answered. "After that, he wouldn't say one word to me."

"Here you go, Spike!" Pinkie Pie said as she inched the present closer to the dragon's bed. The young dragon turned around, no longer angry, just depressed. The scales on his face stained with tears and his eyes puffy and red. Looking at the gift, he was not sure what to do. "Don't be silly! Open it!"

Spike slowly pulled the ribbon and, with a sudden explosion of confetti, the very same, pink party pony popped out of the box. "SURPRISE!"

"Thanks Pinkie," Spike laughed as he wiped his eyes. The longer he thought about it, the more it hurt. She once told him about how she was on the fringe of doing the same thing to her five mare friends at the garden party in Canterlot but, instead, chose to stand by them. By this he could only guess that he was not important to her in the way her friends were.

"Now do ya want to tell us what's the matter, sugarcube?" Applejack asked as Twilight was looking in all directions, trying to figure out how Pinkie managed to end up in the box.

"Yeah," the purple dragon sighed. "It's about Rarity…"

"Oh, really?" Applejack played dumb, though she already knew about his crush on the fashionista, as did most of Ponyville.

"You probably can't tell but I like Rarity… a lot," Spike admitted his feelings to the hard-working pony. "But today, Rarity acted like she didn't even know me because she was with Photo Finish…"

"Oh, don'cha fret, sugarcube," Applejack responded. "Rarity is just… Rarity. I'm sure she didn't mean nothing by it."

"She's right, Spike!" the pink pony backed up her friend as she fit two gems in front of her eyes. "Rarity's a little crazy if you ask me!"

"Ya know what helps me after a bad day? Gettin' some work done around Sweet Apple Acres!" the work pony added. "Do ya wanna join me over at the farm? Ya can help me buck some apples."

"Hmm…" the young dragon thought about the proposal, though the idea of working some more was not too appealing to him.

"If ya don' wanna help me, then maybe even the fresh air will do ya some good," Applejack said, remembering Spike's lazy nature.

"Or you can stay here, Spike, and help me reorganize the library. I was hoping to…" Twilight said before being cut off by her assistant.

"Sweet Apple Acres it is!" the purple dragon said as he hopped out of his bed.

"Then let's head out," the blond pony said as she scooped up the young dragon and ran out the door.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Pinkie Pie whined as the two jewels she had place on her face slipped off.

"Well, I could still use help with reorganizing the library. Like I was going to say, I wanted to…" the purple unicorn said before once again being interrupted.

"Oh… umm… I just remembered! Mr. and Mrs. Cake wanted me to take care of Pound and Pumpkin Cake," the pink pony said as she made her way towards the exit. "Besides, Gummy could use a bath… Sorry, Twilight! Maybe later!"

The unicorn lowered her head as she was left alone to reorganize her books.


	2. Grudge or Love?

**Grudge or Love?**

**AN:** Ok, so I'm done with school for a bit. Sorry it took so long to get anything out, I thank you all for your patience. I hope this will bide me some time while I write the next chapter for this story and Check-up Blues for you guys who are reading both stories. As I always say: Read, Review and Enjoy.

* * *

"Twilight, oh Twilight!" a certain white unicorn knocked at the tree-house library.

The ever studious unicorn was, as usual, using her spare time to re-read her favorite books and create her list of responsibilities. After memorizing the page she had left off on, Twilight closed the book and greeted Rarity who had been looking very worried.

"Rarity, you don't look so good," Twilight commented as she saw Rarity racing up to her bedroom then off into the rest of the house. "Can I… help you with something?"

"Is Spike home?" the dress maker asked.

"No… He's off with Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres," Twilight answered.

"Oh, Twilight, I did terrible thing to him. All for that snooty little photographer, Photo Finish. She ran off with another pony to make _her _into a star," Rarity explained.

* * *

"NO! My camera, how could this happen?" the famous photographer cried out for her broken camera.

"I just don't know what went wrong!" the renown (or perhaps infamous) derped, gray Pegasus said as she sat on a destroyed stage while the final light standing fell.

* * *

"What exactly did you do?" Twilight asked as her friend paced.

"I ignored him, called him stranger," the white unicorn said.

"Well… I could imagine why he took it so bad then…" the purple unicorn said quietly to herself.

"He came back? How… was he?" Rarity asked.

"He didn't even want to answer me. He just took some gems up to his bed and stayed up there until I brought Pinkie and Applejack to cheer him up," Twilight answered.

"Gems? Where did he get gems?" the designer asked.

"He got up early today to finish his chores and head out to dig them up for you…" Twilight said, knowing that it only made her friend feel worse.

"I must apologize to him, Twilight…" Rarity said as she began racing out the door.

"I think it's better to let him cool down a bit. You can come back tomorrow," Twilight said, leading her friend out. "I'm sure Spike will forgive you, he's not one to hold a grudge."

"I do hope so, Twilight," the white unicorn said as she exited out the library.

* * *

Though he had not intended on helping out at the farm, Spike could not sit around while one of his friends was hard at work. He found himself running about, fetching baskets for apples and pushing carts full of them. He never took the time to actually take in the scenery at Sweet Apple Acres before then, and it was breathtaking, completely taking his mind off of his problems.

The only thing more impressive to the young dragon was the hard working, country pony. She had been bucking apples since they had gotten there and she was still going strong, even while Big Mac had taken a break. Spike had brought her some well-earned water after all the non-stop work she had done.

"Thank you kindly, Spike," Applejack said as she drank. "How are ya likin' the farm, Spike?"

"It's…" Spike said as he looked around him, then unwittingly stopped to stare at Applejack as she glistened in sweat.

"Spike?" the work pony called to him, snapping him back to reality.

"Beautiful…" Spike said as his cheeks turned a deep shade of red.

"You know you're always welcome here, Spike. Anytime you want, come and visit," Applejack said as she rubbed his head.

"It's getting late, I should probably be going. But before I go: thanks, Applejack," the dragon assistant said.

"I should be thankin' you. With your help, we've done almost all the work around here," Applejack returned the sentiment.

"_Almost_?" Spike asked.

"Don't go worrin' about it, Spike. It's nothin' I can't handle by myself," the blond farmer said.

"I could stick around to help. I don't think Twilight would mind," Spike said.

"Well, if you're feelin' up it. We just got to get these last few wagons of apples to barn," Applejack told the dragon.

"Alright," the purple dragon said as he struggled to push two of the carts that were linked together.

"Uh… here, Spike, you can take this one. I'll take these," Applejack said as she motioned towards a lone wagon of apples.

* * *

By the time Spike returned to his tree-house home, it had become dark and Twilight had already began her midnight shift with her pet owl. Twilight, of course, had not minded the quiet. She was still able to get much done, even without Spike, although she did miss having her assistant to keep her company as well as his help.

"Hoo-hoo!" Owlowiscious hooted, pointing his wing towards the library's entrance.

"Spike!" Twilight greeted the purple dragon. "You're home late. You have fun over at Sweet Apple Acres with Applejack?"

"Um… Umm…" Spike said blushing at the work pony's name. "Of course, it… was fun."

"Spike, are you ok?" the unicorn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Pff… yeah," Spike assured his friend. "By the way, I promised Applejack I'd help her tomorrow. If… you don't mind?"

"Of course not, Spike!" Twilight replied.

"I'll be back in time to help out here," Spike said. "Also, thanks, Twilight."

"Anything for my friend and number one assistant," the unicorn said, gladly returning his hug. "Oh, I didn't know what you wanted to do with your gems so I took the liberty to organize them by color and shape."

"I think I still want to give them to Rarity," Spike said. Though he thought he would still be angry or upset from repeating her name, he felt nothing of the like but the incident with her and Photo Finish was still burned into his head. It was not something he could forgive so easily.

"She missed you, actually," the unicorn said, levitating a list where she kept all her visitors names and arrival and departure times. "She came at 3:47 P.M. to apologize to you but since you weren't home, I told her to come back tomorrow."

"She came to apologize?" the young dragon asked.

"Why wouldn't she? She felt terrible about it, Spike," Twilight told her assistant.

"She did, huh?" Spike said as he started up the stairs leading to his basket-bed.

"Oh, Spike…" Twilight whispered to herself.


	3. Something Changed

**Something Changed**

**AN:** Here's the next chapter. Yes, yes, I know. Still no pairing-ness to be seen but well get that part soon enough. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, I will try to update soon hopefully with a longer chapter and with something to get this pairing started. Please continue to: Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

For next few days, the pattern continued. Spike would waken early to finish his chores with Twilight early then off he was to Sweet Apple Acres. No suspected anything of it, his new developing feeling for the Stetson hat-wearing pony. Everypony thought that he was just blowing off steam, though Applejack did see he was starting to like the work he helped with.

Rarity, unfortunately, was swamped with orders from Canterlot. This year's Grand Galloping Gala was a mere two month away and after six mares had displayed the young dress maker's designs, many of the posh mares' wanted such custom dresses. Between measuring the clients and price negotiations, the white unicorn had no time to revisit the library-tree-house and apologize to Spike. Her work was slowed as her usual assistant no longer present and her mind was busy thinking of how hurt the young dragon was.

Said dragon was just then thinking of her in turn, he had heard of the multitude of orders she had received. Rarity had been swamped with work before but he was always there to lend a hand… err… claw. She always remembered to thank him kindly with a handful of gems to eat when he returned to his home. He was tempted to go help her but two thing had stopped him: for one, he had promised to help Applejack with this year's apple harvest which was currently in full swing and secondly, the heartache. Even with the knowledge that Rarity had wanted to apologize, the purple dragon could help but feel hurt still. Though the work took his mind off of it, it would take some time before he was fully healed.

"You alright there, sugarcube?" Applejack asked, seeing the dragon lost in thought.

"Yeah… I'm ok," Spike answered.

"Got somethin' on your mind? You looked like yer miles away…" the country pony commented as she sat next to the purple dragon.

"Just thinking of Rarity again…" Spike replied, still staring off into the distance.

"I heard she's up to her mane in dress orders," Applejack said. "She might be needin' some help, you know…"

"But what about you, I need promise to help you out here. The apple harvest is just started," the thoughtful dragon said.

"Spike, you've helped me more Applebloom these past few days…" the blond earth pony paused.

"Hey!" her sister interrupted her.

"Umm… what are you wearin', Applebloom?" Applejack asked, looking at her sister's colorful, tight outfit, complete with mask.

"We're tryin' to get our Cutie Marks as professional wrestlers! We even got Iron Will to help train us!" Applebloom exclaimed as she pointed at a crude wrestling ring.

"Iron Will's Assertiveness Workshop… has not been doing so well…" the Minotaur said as they looked towards him.

"Ok…" Applejack turned her attention back to Spike. "Anyways, what I was tryin' to say is that you've helped enough around here. Besides, I've got Big Macintosh to help me this year."

"Eeyup!" the large, red stallion said as he bucked all the apples off a tree.

"I'm sure she'd appreciate your help a hay of a lot, Spike," the apple farmer said as she rubbed his head.

"I don't know…" the dragon said quietly, still pondering the idea.

"I reckon it would do both of you some good to see each other again," Applejack added. "It's better to deal with your problems, Spike, than to run away from 'em."

"You're right!" Spike said as he began running back towards town. "Thanks, Applejack! I promise, I'll be back to help once Rarity's work is done."

"Don't you fret none, Spike," Applejack replied. "There's always something do around the farm. You won't be missin' much."

* * *

The young dress maker was hard at work, sewing, trimming, thinking of new designs. However, her mind was still preoccupied with the young dragon. She noticed how big and lonely her shop was recently. Usually, her part-time assistant was there to help her out with whatever she needed, which also included just being there, keeping her company. She did not ever think of what the little things that Spike did here and there could add up to.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOH!" Rarity moaned as she cleared her workstation of all the materials piled on it. "What have I done!? I have driven away the best assistant-no-best friend a pony could ever ask for!"

Her conscience was ebbing at her all the while as she thought of all the bad things she ever did to him. Whether it was something as simple as being short with him during times of stress or yelling at him for dragging in mud into her shop. Yet, throughout it all, he stayed with her and served her however he could. That was true dedication, true loyalty, maybe when Twilight had declared him the new Rainbow Dash it held some truth.

"Oh! What I wouldn't give to have my little assistant back again," the white unicorn said as she lied on her "drama queen" couch. After a while of lying there, eyes closed, the unicorn decided to get back to work only to notice that the very same dragon she had been asking for back. "Spike!?"

The little purple dragon had listened to the whole thing. He had been waiting for Rarity to realize he was there. He had brought his wagon filled with gems, though it was greatly reduced from his eating.

"SPIKEY-WIKEY!" Rarity hugged the young dragon. "I'm so sorry! I don't know how you could ever forgive me but I promise I'll make it up to you somehow!"

"It's alright, Rarity! I forgive you," Spike said and though he hugged her back, the hug somehow was not as enjoyable as he remembered.

"Are you quite sure about that, Spike?" the unicorn said, letting the young dragon fall back onto the floor.

"I'm sure, Rarity… I heard you needed some help, so here I am!" Spike said with smile.

The hurt from the incident seemed to disappear after hearing her dramatic conversation with herself. His smile confused the young dress maker as she thought that he had been using working at Sweet Apple Acres as way of avoiding her and yet, he came to her, offering his help during her time of need. What she found even more odd was how he asked for nothing for the hurt she caused, he usually tried to squeeze a kiss out of her every chance he could. She found it adorable and occasionally humored him with a peck on the cheek but this time, Spike seemed to have no intention of doing so.

"Ok… well, we should get started as soon as possible, Spike. We have many orders to get through and we're going to need more gems than these…" Rarity said. "But thank you, Spike, they will definitely help."

* * *

"Hey, Spike!" Twilight said as she greeted her assistant at the door. "Looks like someone had a busy day…"

The dragon rose his finger as if to say something, only to collapse face first onto floor. Twilight was worried but soon heard the little dragon's snore and immediately knew that he had been exhausted by the work he put himself through. Carrying him off and tucking him in his small basket-bed, Twilight let Spike get his well-earned rest.


	4. My Little Drama

**My Little Drama**

**AN:** Yo! A small announcement to all my readers, these two stories will also be posted on the website for the other bronies to read. I will continue to post here as well, just wanted you all to know of my other brony activity and also in case any of you think someone there was stealing my stuff and posting it under my pen name. Alright, on with the chapter! Read, Review and Enjoy!

**Edit:** One thing I did forget to mention, and probably much to the liking of that guest that left a review under the name "spikeisawesome," I've chosen to start working (well, thinking really) on a Spike x Pinkie fic. For one, because a reviewer asked if I could and second, I'm a little disappointed in the small number of Spike x Pinkie fics. So I will take it upon myself to make one!

* * *

Apologies given and friendships (seemingly) repaired, time was an amazing healer. No sooner than a week did the dragon and white unicorn's relationship return to normal. On the surface, it looked like the dragon acted just as he did before but inside, it certainly did not feel the same, similar but not the same. Rarity was too busy with all her custom orders to notice any signs the dragon would demonstrate.

In fact, to the unicorn, nothing might as well have happened. She had her old part-time assistant back and her old life, nothing weighing heavy on her conscience. If it was, it was certainly was not shown in her work ethic. She was going strong, almost like a sewing machine, stitching this, cutting that.

All the while, she had the young dragon running errands, from cooking her lunch to running across town to retrieve a fabric she "just absolutely needed." Lucky for him, his affection for the unicorn gave him the strength to persevere through this tough time. The days he worked with the designer pony seemed to drag on indefinitely, which was the first thing that struck him as unusual. Before the incident, the day would fly by with only small parts he remembered as he stared at the most majestic unicorn he ever laid eyes on.

It seemed that new mare had snuck her way into his mind as Spike found himself often dozing off and daydreaming of the new apple of his eye (pun fully intended). He continuously had to shake forlorn feelings as he remembered and missed helping Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres. This confused the young dragon as the only time he ever daydreamed of anypony was when he thought of Rarity… and on one special occasion, Twilight, though he will never admit it.

"Hmm…" Rarity hummed as inspected her latest design brought to life.

"Rarity?" Spike called the unicorn, bags formed under his eyes from the never ending list of tasks given to him.

"Oh! Yes, Spike can you get some more fabric from over there, I believe I almost have it," the dress maker ordered him.

"Ok," the green-bellied dragon said with fatigue in his voice, obeying the unicorn's whim.

"No, no, this just will not do," Rarity said once she saw what the dragon had brought her.

"Rarity?" Spike asked with a yawn.

"Yes, Spike?" the unicorn replied, coming up from shuffling through all the material she had in a chest in her workplace.

A sight from the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned her head to the window to find that the sun had set, not just now but much earlier. If she had to guess, she would put her money on it already being passed midnight as the moon was in full view and no pony could be seen wondering the dark streets of Ponyville.

"Oh my! Spike, it's late! You should have gone back to home already," Rarity exclaimed, causing Spike to roll his eyes as she finally realized what he was trying to say to her.

The dragon all but ready to go home and fall like log right into his basket-bed but he had a bit hope that perhaps Rarity would walk him home or at least show him out. However, he saw how she was in what he called "the zone," when the creative juices in her brain allowed for little else than to create the vision in her head. He was used to it, he really was. It was often that he stayed up past his usual bedtime for his "Lady Rarity" and he would never mind but he had been very careful to notice every little detail in the way she treated, ever since the incident.

"Bye, Rarity…" Spike said, waiting at the open shop door to hear a farewell from his crush but unfortunately, nothing of the sort came.

"Take care, Spike," Rarity replied, only after the dismayed dragon had left.

* * *

This had been a rough week for the dragon, helping his unicorn crush with all the excessive amount of custom order dresses had taken a lot out of as Twilight clearly saw. Every night for the entire week, the studious unicorn saw the dragon leave early and return exhausted. In all honesty, she missed her assistant's… well… assistance as well as his company. Usually, he always would create a ruckus which never allowed her to fully concentrate on her reading or organizing but, for some odd reason she could not quite put her hoof on, she missed it.

When he walked through the door and, again, the overworked dragon collapsed.

"Oh, Spike…" Twilight said to herself as she carried his unconscious body to his bed. She knew he had good intentions and about his efforts to garner the dress maker's affections. But she also knew that he was running himself ragged which caused her to worry about the young dragon.

* * *

Spike awoke the next day to find that he somehow had made it to his bed last night though he only remembered dragging himself to the door.

"Hey, Spike!" Twilight greeted the still sleepy-eyed dragon. "You've been coming home late… Rarity's been keeping you busy, I bet."

"Yeah…" Spike yawned.

"I was thinking about it, Spike," the purple unicorn said. "And I want to give you the day off as long as you promise that you'll use it rest up. It's not healthy for you to use all your time helping everypony."

"Yeah, I think I do need some to myself," Spike said as he sat their small dining area.

"I also made breakfast, all by myself!" Twilight beamed with pride; usually it was Spike who acted as the chef of the house. "Dig in!"

"Looks delicious!" the dragon exclaimed as his mouth filled with drool just by smelling the feast. Suddenly, something hit him, a scent from the food, reminding him of something. "Apples… apples… apples…?"

"Yes, Spike? What about apples?" Twilight said as she took a bite out of her homemade apple pancakes.

"Apples… Apple-jack!" Spike said as he remembered that he promised to help Applejack his help. "Oh no! I completely forgot I promised to help her. Sorry, Twilight! Got to go!"

"WAIT! SPIIIIKE!" she called to the baby dragon but he was already out of hearing range.

* * *

The dragon went along the dirt road that led through Ponyville to Sweet Apple Acres as fast as his little legs could take him. Though he was in a hurry, he did not forget to greet all the ponies as he nearly crashed into them. It had nearly been a week since he had promised Applejack that he would return and make up for leaving during the busiest time of the year for the Apple family.

Honestly, the young dragon did indeed miss working with the Apples over at their farm. The work was a good more physically taxing than anything that he did for Rarity or Twilight but he still enjoyed it. Maybe it was the fresh air or the scenic view but something kept drawing him back to that farm. He never felt more energetic than he did during those days he worked with Applejack, he would even dare say that he got a bit strong from the labor, something he did not mind one bit.

As he reminisced about past days, he finally arrived at the farm, wheezing and barely able to stand, but still with the full intention of helping Applejack. "Whew! Made it!" Spike said, all the while breathing heavily.

"Spike? Wasn't expectin' to see ya here today?" the blond farmer asked as she approached the small dragon.

"I made you a promise, remember?" Spike said. "I sure do."

"You feelin' ok, Spike?" Applejack asked, noticing the bags under his eyes and his abnormal breathing. "You look plumb tuckered out. Maybe you should go back to the library and get yourself a good long rest. I know you've been helpin' Rarity out this past week, must be as tired as bull bucking at a rodeo."

"But…" Spike said with a yawn.

"Gotta learn to pace yourself, sugarcube," the work pony said, picking the tired dragon onto her back. "Trust me, Spike. Learned that the hard way."

"But I promised to help you," the purple dragon said, slumped over the pony's back.

"Spike, I love ya helpin' me but I'd love it more for ya take care of yerself better," Applejack responded. "Now, Spike, I have big job for ya to do for me when we get back to the library, I want ya to take the rest of the day off, no chores, no helping, just rest those weary lil' scales of yers."

"Ok, Applejack," Spike said, signaling his compliance.

"But before we go, just gotta make a quick stop over at the farm house, got somethin' I want to give ya there, and then we'll head on back to Ponyville," the apple farmer said. "Sound good to ya?"

The dragon simply nodded as he fell asleep on top of the earth pony.

* * *

Twilight was somewhat torn in the library all by herself. She did not know what to do, whether to go after Spike and force the dragon to take a day off or not. She knew all this extra work was driving the little guy into the ground but she also knew that he was free to do as he pleased. He was not so much a baby dragon anymore, in fact he started to despise when she would call him a "baby dragon."

He did quite a bit of growing up during their relatively short time here in Ponyville. His small crush on Rarity had developed into full blown love from what the purple unicorn saw but he still called it a crush, not really knowing what love was yet. But the recent incident seemed to dealt a a significant blow to that relationship, call it mare's intuition, but Twilight could clearly tell that it had affected the dragon much more than he led on. After living with him so many years, the unicorn could tell when something was bugging him, she only hoped it did not work the other way around.

A knock at the door derailed the studious pony's train of thought.

"Hey, Twilight," Applejack greeted her friend as she opened the door.

"Oh, hey, Applejack," the unicorn smiled at the farmer. "I thought you'd be at Sweet Apple Acres with Spike. I did give him the day off but he's grown to be quite the stubborn little dragon."

"I can tell, he ran all the way to the farm after all the work Rarity's had him doin'," Applejack laughed as the unicorn levitated the sleeping Spike onto her own back. "Poor lil guy, must be sore all over."

"I'll make sure he stays and doesn't lift a claw this time," Twilight assured her friend.

"Here's something for him, not much but it's all you find lyin' around a farm," the work pony said as she handed a sack of gems over to the unicorn. "I know how he loves 'em."

"Wow, thanks Applejack! I'm sure if he was awake, Spike would have thanked you too," Twilight said, levitating the bag.

"'Taint nothing, the little guy's really earned," Applejack said as she tipped her hat. "Now, if ya'll excuse me, I've got to go see Rarity."

"About what?" the unicorn asked inquisitively.

"She's gotta take it easier on Spike, I know she's busy and all but that doesn't mean ya should take advantage of a friend," Applejack said as she headed off to the fashionista's home and shop.


	5. Of Unicorns and Dragons

**Of Unicorns and Dragons**

AN: The next chapter has landed! So here it is! I put a lot of effort into the "talk" between Rarity and Applejack, I hope it lives up to everyone's expectations! If not, hey, can't say I didn't try! Next chapter will be here whenever I get to it, I've returned to classes so it might or might not take longer for me to update. Just a warning. And as I always say: Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

"Rarity?" Applejack called as she walked through the front door of the Carousel Boutique.

The fashionista was nowhere to be found in the store front. It was unusually messy, in fact. Although she did keep her workplace scattered and chaotic, Rarity usually had her store nice and tidy not only for the customer's sake but also because of her refined nature. Yet, throughout the store, there were dresses thrown about everywhere and rolls of fabrics completely spread out.

"Ah! Spike, I thought you'd never…" Rarity said, exiting her room and entering the shop. "Oh… Applejack, how kind of you to drop by."

"Uh… Well, I really wanted to talk to ya…" the blond farmer responded as she followed the dress maker back to her room.

"I'm sorry, Applejack. Normally, I would love to sit and gossip with you but I've been commissioned to work on so many dresses, I can hardly find the time to breathe," Rarity replied, magically levitating some fabric and needles to begin her work anew.

"This is kinda important," Applejack said authoritatively.

"Ok, Applejack," the fashion designer said, laying down the tools of her trade. "What is it?"

"Well, I don't wanna take too much of yer time so I'll get right to it," Applejack said as she removed her hat. "Don'cha think you're taking advantage of Spike just a wee bit?"

"Spike comes to me and asks me if there is anything he can do for me," Rarity said defensively.

"But have ya seen him lately? The poor little guy's just about ready to keel over," Applejack said, trying her best to calm.

"As I said before, he comes to _me_," the fashionista said and turned around as if the conversation was over.

"Rarity, ya know just as well as everypony that Spike has a crush on ya," Applejack said, raising her voice slightly.

"And what does that have to with anything?" Rarity asked with her back still to the farmer pony.

"There is ain't much he wouldn't do for ya," Applejack said, her temper nearing the boiling point.

"And…?" the white unicorn replied.

"AND you're using him!" the blond farmer nearly yelled, only stopped by her clenched teeth.

"Why I never!" Rarity exclaimed as she spun around to face the earth pony. "How dare you make such accusations?"

"They're not accu-whatzits if they're true, Rarity!" the apple farmer shouted as her and her friend found themselves face to face quite literally, pushing each other's foreheads together.

"I think you should leave now…" the normally refined unicorn said in a very uncharacteristic harsh tone, narrowing her eyes as she did.

"Hmph! Maybe I should…" Applejack said in almost an angry whisper as she made her towards the shop's exit. "But ya know what you're doing to Spike ain't right, Rarity. You're leading him on. I know you're better than that… at least I thought so…"

"I would never do that to Spikey Wikey!" Rarity screamed at her departing friend. The argument left the unicorn winded as she huffed and puffed. But only a few moments had passed and already began to reflect on what Applejack had said.

"I… I wouldn't…" the unicorn said in the empty shop, perhaps trying to convince herself.

* * *

"How did this happen?" Twilight paced the library. Her confession to the sleeping dragon had her confused. She had realized feelings that she did not know she had for her assistant. Yet, for the life of her, she could not recall when these feelings developed.

Thinking back, she always had Spike with her, ever since Celestia left him in her care. In fact, one thing she never thought about was why Celestia allowed him to stay with her, being so young herself when she received him. If what Celestia wanted her to learn was friendship all along, then maybe Spike was her first step towards that path: her first friend, other than her brother of course.

It still did seem strange that Celestia would leave the baby dragon with her, barely being older than a filly herself. Even if he was her first lesson in friendship, Celestia would have considered rearing Spike herself, as she did for the first few years of the dragon's life, all the while allowing Spike to visit her. But instead, she left him to be her assistant. Maybe Spike himself would know the answer as to why the princess did so.

Going along with that line of thought, Twilight also remembered all the long nights in Canterlot. She constantly overdid it when it came to her studies and would fall asleep face first on her books and scrolls but she would wake up the next morning with a pillow replacing the book she was reading and blanket over her body. She never gave it much thought, too concerned in finishing her studies, but Spike was the only one with her during those times so he was the only pony… well, dragon… that could be responsible for that act of kindness.

Twilight also remembered how in his younger days, she would read to him scary stories, a weekend tradition that had been long since abandoned. Some of the stories were too frightening for the poor little reptile, his paranoia of zombie ponies could attest to that. When the stories did not allow the young dragon to sleep on his own, she used to invite him onto her bed for the night, and truthfully, it was as much for her as for him. She quite often spooked herself with some of the stories she read and having a male dragon next to her throughout the night provided an incredible form of comfort.

A snore from the said dragon brought her back to the present. Perhaps it took him being out of the library, separated from her for so long, for her to realize that she did in fact love him. She never thought about losing him because she never truly thought it would happen.

"Am I jealous… of Rarity?" Twilight asked herself. She always told Spike that his crush on Rarity was immature and that he never had the chance to win her over. But now she realized that maybe, just maybe, she subconsciously did not want him to succeed in earning the affection of her white counterpart. It would have been so much easier for her to just tell Spike about her feelings but with the maelstrom of thoughts running through Twilight's head, she could not think straight. No, not until she found where it all began or how it began.

But perhaps there was some hope of finding the time where these feelings for Spike first developed. Luckily, Twilight kept meticulous records in journals of just about everything ever since she became a student of Princess Celestia. If there were any hints or clues as to source of her feelings, then they would be in those journals… Unfortunately for her, Spike is the only one that would know where she kept them and, along with already promising him the day off, he would also question why she needed those journals. If she looked for them herself, Twilight would probably have to turn the library inside out, so she would have to wait a while longer to let the dragon have his day of R & R and for her to come up with an excuse as to why she needed those journals.

A knock at the door spooked the purple unicorn as she plotted how to get her old journals back.

"Twilight?" it was Rarity's voice speaking. "Twilight, darling, I need to talk to you."

"Oh… hi, Rarity!" Twilight said with a nervous smile forming across her face. "Didn't expect you to see you today."

"Sorry to intrude but Applejack and I… had a 'talk' earlier," Rarity hesitated, underselling the fight that she just had. "And seeing as you know Spike the best…"

"Yes…?" Twilight asked.

"Be honest, Twilight, I can't stress that enough. Do I…" Rarity paused, trying to force the rest of the question out of her. "Do you think I take advantage of Spike's feelings?"

"Uh… well," Twilight stalled, thinking of a way to put it gently. She did, in fact, think that fashionista sometimes used the dragon's feelings to benefit herself.

"I see…" Rarity said as she took the hint, hanging her head. "Do I lead him on, Twilight?"

"What do you mean?" Twilight requested to the white unicorn to clarify her question.

"Do you think that I give him the idea that I feel the same he does for me?" the dress maker asked. "Is that a bad thing that I do?"

"I think that really depends on whether you do, Rarity," Twilight answered.

"Is he here?" Rarity asked in a whisper.

"Yes… but he's upstairs, sound asleep," the purple unicorn said, worrying about the reason she would ask that.

"I… I do care for him, very much so…" the fashionista admitted. "I can't lie; I've grown quite fond of him. He's always been the most courteous gentlecolt, dragon, that I've ever met. He always treats me like a lady. He's also incredibly thoughtful and not to mention handy. What I'm trying to say…"

"You _love_ Spike?" Twilight struggled to say with a knot in her throat.

"Please, Twilight, you must promise me that you won't say a word about this to anypony… or dragon," Rarity pleaded as she motioned her head towards the upstairs bedroom.

"Does this have anything to do with the talk that you and Applejack had?" Twilight asked, jealousy eating at her a bit.

"She said that I was taking advantage of Spike, that I was using his feelings for me…" the dress designer said with a bit of melancholy in her voice. "But I don't mean to! I really don't… He loves me because I act like a lady, I try to be elegant and refined. But if I open up to him, if I let him see the real me, not just my good moments but when I'm at my worst… then what if he sees I'm not the princess he dreams about, what if he leaves me…"

"Rarity…" Twilight tried to console her friend but it was too late, the white unicorn had already bolted out the door.

"I'm sorry, Twilight, I must go…" Rarity said, tears welling up in her eyes.

* * *

One full day of rest did wonders for the fatigued dragon as he felt like he could take on the world and anything it had in store for him. He remembered his promise to Applejack, that he would help her, but he had to check on Rarity, having left her to work by herself the day before. He could not betray his heart, he still had strong feelings for her and they caused him to feel guilty for leaving her on her own.

"Rarity?" Spike called the unicorn, entering her shop.

"Oh, Spike…" Rarity answered as she wiped her face with her hoof. The young dragon could swear he heard a sniffle.

"Are you ok, Rarity?" Spike asked the unicorn. She looked a mess, almost like she had stayed up all night. Her mane was disheveled, her tail neglected, and bags had formed under her eyes.

"I'm quite alright, Spike. Thank you for your concern," the ragged-looking pony lied through her teeth. "Spike, I know I've been overstepping myself with you… and I want you to take the day away from me."

"But Rarity…" Spike was interrupted as he tried to convince the unicorn to let him stay.

"No, Spike, no but's," Rarity said adamantly. Although he could clearly see that she was far from ok, Spike still complied with her request. She did not look like she could be persuaded otherwise.

"Alright, Rarity…" the saddened dragon said as he began towards the door leading outside.

"Wait!" Rarity said, galloping towards the young dragon. Spike stopped as he heard the dress maker's call. Suddenly, he felt her forelegs wrap around him, pulling him into a deep hug. "I'm so sorry, Spike… for everything."

"It's alright, Rarity," Spike said as he hugged the white unicorn back. He did not want to let the moment end, that hug felt better than any other they had ever shared but, much to his disappointment, Rarity broke it.

"Thank you, Spike, but…" the currently unruly pony paused as she gave him a gentle push out of the door.

The young dragon still felt the guilt haunting his mind and heart but he knew that it was best to give Rarity time to herself. But he could not think of what to do with his newfound time. "I still have my promise to Applejack, I should see if she needs help."


	6. While Rarity's Away, Spike Will Play

**While Rarity's Away, Spike Will Play**

AN: At last, an update! I was starting to feel lazy... Anyways, this chapter's a bit longer than the rest. I hope you guys enjoy it. Not much say other than that. And as I always: Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

Though his mind was still focused on Rarity, Spike still knew that he had a promise to keep and he was going to make sure that he kept it. Racing over to Sweet Apple Acres as fast as his short legs could carry him, he found the farming mare just as busy as ever. Though this time it is was all about sorting the harvest, picking out the bad apples from the good ones. Spike already knew their schedule and the tomorrow was market day for the Apple family so it was no surprise that they were doing such a tedious task.

"Applejack!" Spike called out as he ran up the farm house.

"Well you're lookin' a hay of a lot better, Spike!" Applejack replied, leaving her post alongside Granny Smith and Applebloom.

"Yup!" the young dragon said with a smile. "Twilight said that you brought me back home when I was supposed to stay at the library…"

"Anytime, Spike," the blond farmer said. "Couldn't just leave ya there."

"But… you left me gems too, Twilight told they were from you," Spike continued. He knew that gems did not come cheap and there were a few decently sized gems that could have been worth a pretty bit had she sold them instead.

"'Twas nothin', just some shiny rocks that Big Mac digs up now and then. We were saving them for a rainy day but I thought you deserved them," Applejack said as she rubbed his head with her hoof. "But there ain't much to do around here, just getting ready to go into town tomorrow. This sortin' will just bore ya to death."

"I don't mind, I promised to help you and I will. Anyways, all I do at the library is stuff like this for Twilight," the dragon assistant said before he began to mimic Twilight. "'Put these friendship letter copies away, Spike; No, that's the _daily_ journals, Spike, those go in the _weekly_ journals drawer; Spike! What is my "History of Canterlot" doing in the Magic Section?'"

"If he wants to, he can take my spot! Me and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were all plannin' on gettin' our Cutie Marks by building an amusement park!" Applebloom nearly squealed with excitement as hopped on to her hooves.

"Didn't you guys already try to be carpenters… and fail?" Spike asked.

"Well, whatever you fillies do, stay away from the Everfree Forest," Applejack warned her sister. "You know we've been hearin' Timberwolves from the edge of the forest."

"Alright, Applejack, we'll be careful…" the red-headed filly lazily promised her sister, then quickly rushing off to get her two fellow Crusaders.

"Looks like a spot just opened up," the farmer mare said, tapping her hoof on an empty spot next to her. Spike eagerly took the spot and began picking the good apples, though not too adeptly at first, as Applejack had to sort through his picks to insure that they kept with the Apple family's standard. However as the day continued, the dragon was able to get the hang of it and also provided his services as a dispose-all, with his iron stomach it was easy for him to eat all the low quality (and/or rotten) apples.

* * *

"Oh, Spike, you're home!" Twilight said, caught off guard while turning the library inside out. Unable to find an excuse as to why she needed her Canterlot logs, the unicorn had taken her assistant's time away to find them herself.

"Uh… You need help finding something, Twilight?" Spike asked, looking at Twilight's disheveled self.

"Oh no… It's nothing too important," Twilight said with a nervous laugh as she began picking up her mess.

"Uh-huh…" her assistant replied, obviously not believing her, beginning to help her to adjust the library back to its normal state. "Are you sure you don't need any help finding something?"

"No, no. I'm sure you're tired after helping Rarity all day anyways," the purple unicorn answered.

"Actually, Rarity wasn't looking to good and so I left her alone," Spike said, a little guilt lingering in his voice. "So I helped Applejack instead, she asked me to keep her company tomorrow at the market. Is that okay, Twilight? I know I should've asked you first…"

"It's… ok," Twilight responded, though pangs of jealousy still hit her heart hard. "Am I jealous of Applejack too?"

"Huh?" her assistant asked.

"Oh! Nothing…" Twilight said, not realizing she had her last question out loud.

"Ok, well… I'm going to bed. Are you _sure_ you don't need my help with something?" Spike said as he began up the stairs.

"Actually…" the studious unicorn forced herself to say. "Do you know where my Canterlot journals are?"

"Why do you need those old things?" Spike asked the very question that Twilight feared.

"Umm… I want to… organize them…?" Twilight told him a horrifyingly obvious lie. Fortunately for her, it seemed that the dragon believed her, shrugging as he walked to another room in the library. To him, it was not too much of a stretch that the OCD afflicted unicorn wanted to sort everything she could.

"Here you go," the little dragon said, leading the unicorn to a drawer that held journals to the very brim. "I think that's all of them…"

It might as well have been gold that Spike had led her to by the way Twilight eyed the logs.

"Thank you, Spike! What would I ever do without you?!" the purple mare asked as she squeezed her assistant.

"Have fun… I'm going to bed," Spike yawned.

"What _would_ I do without you?" Twilight asked herself. She knew she loved her longtime assistant and friend but she also knew that his feelings belonged to Rarity. If the dress designer were to ever reveal her feelings, she might just lose him forever. She could easily bar him from seeing her but she knew it was not right, despite how she felt. Her ears drooped at the thought of losing her best friend.

* * *

"Got to say, Applejack, this isn't the most exciting thing in the world," Spike commented about them waiting for customers. "I can see why you wanted company…"

"I appreciate it, Spike," Applejack said. It was always slow during the early morning of market day and, with Applebloom's impatience and Big Macintosh's quiet nature, neither was cut out to be a salespony.

"Ah! There you are, Spike!" a familiar voice said, behind the sitting dragon.

"Rarity?" the dragon asked as he saw the unicorn approach them.

"I've been meaning to talk to you too, Applejack," Rarity addressed her earth pony friend, though she still felt a bit of hostility behind the farmer's gaze.

"You're looking better," Spike remarked on Rarity returning to her normal appearance, compared to when he last saw her.

"First of all, I wanted to say… I'm sorry, Applejack," the fashionista apologized. "I should have known that you wouldn't say anything if you didn't believe it was true. I should've have listen to you rather than lashed back. I realized that maybe you were right and I'm trying to make it right and prevent it happening in the future."

"That's mighty big of ya, Rarity," Applejack replied as her look softened. "Glad to hear it."

"And Spike, I'll be going on a trip to give demonstration of a dress to a customer in Canterlot and then I'll be going to the Crystal Empire to pick up some special material," Rarity told the dragon. "I wanted to tell you, Spike, so you would not wonder where I went to."

"Do you…" Spike began only to be silence by a white hoof to the mouth.

"It's better that you stay here, Spike. I'll be gone for a week or longer, it would be too much to ask," the dress maker said. "I'll be fine."

"If you think so…" the young dragon said, though it obviously saddened him.

"Don't worry, Spike, we can spend some time together when I get back. After I finish the Gala dresses, of course," Rarity told him as she headed back to her boutique.

* * *

"Let's see, let's see," Twilight said, quickly skimming through her entries from her days of study in Canterlot. "'I read "Bestiary of Equestria", today. It was very enlightening, I'll write to Princess Celestia about what I learned…' blah blah blah. This is kind of boring, who wrote this… oh, right. I did."

Continuing to rapidly read every page, Twilight found no evidence of her feelings in any of the journals. All she wrote were facts and events that happened during the day rather than her feelings. She was never very good at expressing herself, whether through words or other mediums. She tried her hoof at painting once, only to give up once she realized everything she drew looked like something one would find at a magic kindergarten.

Thinking back on it, Spike was the only one in Canterlot that she ever really allowed to see her emotions. On some of her worst days, he would sit there and her rant about how she could not perform her spell no matter how hard she tried. Or he put up with her bad moods when she was overworked and under pressure. Even when she would criticize him for taking long to find her the right book or when he would accidentally bring her the wrong book, her little assistant stood by her side, through thick and thin.

Realizing that she allowed her mind to drift off, Twilight returned to reading her Canterlot journals, holding on to some shred of hope that she wrote something hinting that her feelings developed for the young dragon.

* * *

It had been a few days since Rarity left on her trip and Spike was clearly missing her. He was feeling a bit down and his work ethic reflected it as he was lazier than usual. Twilight had not given him much to do lately, having been busy with reading all her journals, and there were been many, many, many journals which only made sense seeing how her and Spike had spent so many years together in Canterlot. The dragon assistant knew that he should act so needy towards his crush; he had to get out of his current funk somehow.

He had an idea but, at the same time, he was hesitant to act on it. Spike had thought of maybe going over to Sweet Apple Acres, seeing as how Applejack said he was always welcome. But a fear stopped him, he and Applejack were growing closer and closer with all the time they were spending together ever since Rarity was gone. He found himself trying to impress the farming mare by trying to push as many apple-filled carts as she could or trying to buck all the apples off a tree with a single hit just as she did. Both were complete failures: when he tried pushing anymore more than two carts, he could move them at most a mere inch before he felt like he was about pull something, and when he tried to head-butt a tree to collect its apple bounty, he only managed to knock himself unconscious. Trying to pull of these types of feats was only something he would try to do for Rarity.

The fear was that perhaps his feelings for Rarity were shifting, that the more time he spent with Applejack, the more likely he would fall for her too, or worse, she might soon replace Rarity in his heart. He truly did love Rarity and he felt like he was betraying her by falling for another mare. To him, she was the most elegant, most beautiful mare in all of Equestria, a true lady. She was a mare which no other could, or should have been able to, compete with. Of course, she had her shortcomings. She was short with him on occasion, she sometimes criticized him when he was dirty but he knew that deep down, she was very caring and generous. Yet, Applejack was somehow winning him over, something about her just called out to him but he could not name it.

The apple farmer was obviously a hard worker but there were other qualities about her Spike had just barely gotten to notice. Being a hard worker was one reason Spike felt attracted to Applejack, he liked to think that he was a hard worker too as he was always giving up his free time to help others, it was something they had in common. But as he has seen for himself, Applejack was also very considerate, with how she carried him home and giving away the pouch of gems for him to enjoy as a treat. She was very grateful for everything he did, remembering to thank him, even if it was just keeping her company as she worked, and tried avoiding giving difficult chores. "And she's not too bad to look at…" Spike said to himself but quickly covered his mouth, after realizing what he just said.

He asked himself again whether he should go and visit Applejack at the farm. He wanted to go, despite his feeling of betrayal, and he wanted to spend more time with Applejack. Spike could not deny what he wanted, even if the guilt weighed heavy on his mind. It was not betraying Rarity if their relationship was not in the romantic sense. Rarity never hinted that she returned his feeling, so it could not possibly be infidelity. "Right?" Spike asked himself out loud.

"'Right' what, Spike?" Twilight asked back, taking a small break from her reading.

"Oh, 'right' that, umm…" Spike stalled to come up with something. "'Right' that you don't need me right now?"

"Are you thinking of going over to Sweet Apple Acres today?" the purple mare asked the dragon, almost as if she could read his mind.

"Well, I've been thinking about it," the dragon assistant answered, though it was partly true as he still had not decided what he was going to do.

"You and Applejack _have_ been spending a lot of time together. Maybe you should give her some time to herself," Twilight replied. It was an attempt to keep him in the library. Ever since she admitted her feelings to herself about her little assistant, she felt jealous and a bit possessive of the little dragon. It felt wrong but Twilight could not help herself. She could feel a sharp pain in her heart whenever she knew that he was spending time with another mare.

"But Applejack said that I could visit her anytime I wanted, she said she could always use the help," Spike said as a matter-of-fact. "So can I, Twilight?"

"Of course," the studious unicorn replied with a bit of a struggle due to a knot forming in her throat.

"Good luck on your work, Twilight," the young dragon bode her farewell.

"Bye, Spike…" Twilight said as her tears soaked the pages of her Canterlot journal.

* * *

"Nice to see ya again, Spike," Applejack greeted the arriving dragon.

"Hey, Applejack!" Spike said, giving the earth pony a warm hug.

Spike's growing feelings had not gone unnoticed by Applejack. It would have been hard for her to not to notice, what with how she constantly caught him ogling her and how he was acting so touchy-feely with her lately. She could say that the dragon was certainly helpful and that he was a kind, caring little reptile but she could not say that she returned his feelings. However, she admired his persistence and how hard he worked to gain her affections. It was certainly flattering, no stallion ever tried to court her at all and all this attention from Spike did make her feel rather special.

"There's not much to do around here today," the blond farmer stated. "Applebloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are still off on making their 'theme park.' How's about I thank ya for all the help lately with a little picnic? Just you and me."

"Just us?" the purple dragon gulped.

"Yeah! What do ya say?" Applejack asked.

"Uh… umm…" Spike stammered, finding himself once again conflicted. It was one thing to visit and help out Applejack but this seemed very close to a date to the little dragon. The purple dragon needed a moment to collect his thoughts. Turning his back to the apple farmer, he began thinking about this invitation. "It's not like Rarity will ever finds out… but what if she does!? I could lose my chances with her forever! But Applejack… she is just wants to thank me… it's not a date… Just two friend having a picnic, right?"

"Uh, Spike, you know you just said that out loud," the blond earth pony told him. "It's ok if you don't wanna go, I understand."

"No! I do want to go, it'll be fun," the little dragon answered as his stomach growled. "Hehe, it'll be good to get something eat too."

* * *

The two prepared their little picnic sweets and food, including some hay sandwiches and some pies. They packed up and headed out to an open field on Sweet Apple Acres Applejack knew would give them some peace and quiet. With the three Cutie Mark seeking fillies building their "theme park," silence and serenity were scarce around the Apple's farm. Unfortunately, they would have to pass the noisy construction site where the Crusaders were breaking ground for their first ride.

As they did, they noticed something very strange indeed. Where they thought they would hear the most noise, it was dead silent. They decided to investigate the location of the future "theme park" only to find it abandoned. Except for a few flimsy wooden boards, the dragon and earth pony found no trace of the three fillies. Then Applejack noticed something, they had not heeded her warning of staying far from the edge of the bordering forest. They, in fact, were building almost right next to the Everfree tree line.

"Ugh! I told those fillies to stay away from the forest," the blond farmer told the dragon on her back. "We better find them, Spike."

"Right!" Spike said as he hopped off the pony. "But the Everfree forest is HUGE! Where are we going to start?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" the duo heard a cry coming from within the forest. Soon after, a little filly Pegasus popped out of the bushes lining the forest border, pursued by a single Timberwolf. A ravenous looking Timberwolf at that. "SOMEPONY HELP ME!"

As the filly ran behind Applejack, the magical animal stopped in its tracks and examined the situation before him. A full grown mare and a dragon guarded his meal, the Timberwolf gave up his prey and disappeared back into the forest.

"Scootaloo! Where's Applebloom and Sweetie Belle!? Are they ok? What happened?" Applejack barraged the filly with questions.

"They're in there…" Scootaloo pointed a trembling hoof in the direction of the forest.


	7. Where There's Smoke

**Where There's Smoke...**

AN: Sorry for the long delay but the new chapter is here. A really note, this will probably be the new schedule for updates: about every two weeks, so. I hope you guys enjoy it. A bit more actiony than the MLP series would probably allow but eh... when do fanfictions ever follow canon? Please remember to: Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

"Scootaloo," Applejack addressed the orange filly. "Go back to the farmhouse and get Big Macintosh."

"O… O-ok," Scootaloo said, still unable to stop shaking.

"Spike, we're going into the Everfree Forest," the blond farmer told the dragon.

"Wait, what?" Spike said, caught off-guard. "I thought you just told Scootaloo to get Big Mac… Aren't we going to wait for him?"

"Big Mac maybe the strongest stallion in Ponyville but he sure as hay ain't the fastest," Applejack said as she lifted the dragon onto her back. "If we wait here, sittin' on our hooves, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle are gonna be Timberwolf chow."

"Then maybe we should split up," the purple dragon said, climbing down off the earth pony. "We can cover more ground like that and if they split up too then maybe we can get to both before those pile of sticks do."

"I don't know, Spike," the hatted pony replied, unsure that the dragon could handle himself.

"Don't worry about me, Applejack," Spike told her, flexing his "biceps". "With these thick scales and muscles, there's no way the Timberwolves will get past me."

"Alright, alright, we already too much time standin' around chit-chattin'," Applejack said. "Let's get in there, we have fillies to find."

Both quickly rushed into the brush of the forest and lost sight of each within a couple of minutes of running.

* * *

"Ok, ok, calm down," Applejack told herself. "Applebloom's ok. She's safe, she's a tough little filly. She can take care of herself."

Unfortunately, a familiar scream unnerved the blond earth pony. She knew it was her sister and by the sound of the scream, she knew she was far from "ok". Applejack could not help but feel a bit responsible for this situation. She said it herself, she had not had much to do but instead of checking in on the little club of fillies, she decided to have a picnic.

"Hold on, Applebloom, big sis is comin'!" Applejack yelled as she pushed her legs to carry her faster towards the scream.

* * *

"Sweetie Belle! Applebloom!" Spike's voice traveled through the forest as he ran as fast as his little legs could carry him. Arriving at a small cliff, he stopped to see if he could catch a glimpse of either filly or at least some sort of movement. Suddenly, he heard what sounded like a stampede beneath him, actually causing him to lose a bit of his balance.

"Whoa!" the dragon said, trying to remain on his feet. Looking over the edge, Spike saw a white little unicorn running for her life as a large pack of wooden wolves chased after her, closing in with every second. "Oh, well… umm…"

The dragon did not know what to do. One problem was solved but another made. He found the endangered filly but how was he going to get to her was now the issue. If he were climb down, it would take too long for him to reach the ground. If he tried to go around, it would take even longer. That left only one choice, a leap of faith. If he could manage to make a solid landing, he could help Sweetie Belle before the Timberwolves could catch her, it was his only hope.

"Here goes nothi-!" Spike yelled as he jumped off the cliff. Luckily, or maybe unluckily, the dragon landed on one of the wolves passing by.

"Oh, this can't be good!" the purple reptile screamed as he struggled to stay on the snarling mythical creature.

Meanwhile, the unicorn out in front was running out of steam as she began to slow her pace. She was already breathing very heavily and was no longer even paying attention to the direction she was running in. Eventually, this caused her to run herself into a corner as the hungry wolves slowly enclosed the area.

"Whoa!" Spike said as the wolf he rode finally managed to jerk him off. Crashing on the wall behind the frightened unicorn, he immediately stood back up and grabbed a small, fallen branch nearby and held it to the ravenous pack in front him.

"Spike? What are you doing here?" Sweetie Belle asked, huffing and puffing throughout.

"I came to save you!" the dragon said, waving the stick around as the wolves dodged the blows.

"But who's going to save you?" the terrified unicorn asked as she turned around to, too scared to face the drooling wolves that surrounded them.

"I-I still can do this, Applejack is counting me!" Spike replied, after one of the bolder wolves bit the stick, rendering the dragon unarmed. Sweetie Belle had lost control of her quivering tail as it rubbed against the dragon's face. "I ca-ca-ca… AAAAH!"

"Spike? Are you ok?" Sweetie Belle asked as she turned to the dragon who had his head raised and a claw to his nose.

"CHOOOO!" the little dragon let loose a large stream of emerald fire from his mouth. The wolves were dumbfounded and frightened by the sudden unleashing of a wild, magical fire as they stared blankly at each other and the young dragon. The entire pack then scattered, each member whimpering, in every direction possible as the threat of a firebreather scared the appetite right out of them.

"You did it, Spike!" the unicorn hugged the dragon.

"Huh?" Spike asked, rubbing his nose. "Hey, I did, didn't I?"

The two rejoiced in the fact they somehow managed to survive that life-threatening situation. But sudden howl broke up the happy celebrations as Spike realized that there was still another filly in danger.

* * *

"Applebloom!" the elder of the Apple sisters called out. Applejack knew she was closing in on her sister, finding a couple of Timberwolf stragglers trying to rejoin the main group. She continued to follow these laggards as they lead her to the rest of the pack who were already nipping at the heels of the country filly.  
Charging through the pursuing predators, Applejack managed to make her way to the front and finally meet up with her younger sister. Little Applebloom looked and sounded like she was just about to collapse. Suddenly, she found herself off the ground and being lifted higher and higher. Applejack had picked her by her tail and thrown her onto her back.

"Applejack! You don't know how good it is to see ya…" her sister said as she relaxed herself.

"We're not out of the woods yet, Applebloom," Applejack replied, knowing that the wolves were still following very close behind.  
Unfortunately for them, the wolves that had stopped their preying on Spike and Sweetie Belle had followed the howls of the second half. They began to cut off the blond farmer and her sister at every turn as Applejack soon found it difficult to choose a safe path to run one. She every time she tried to change direction back towards the farm, more and more wolves would pounce on her, only to narrowly miss their target.

The situation only grew grimmer as Applejack realized that they were driving her deeper into the forest, where the trees grew closest to each other and made it hard for bigger creatures, such as herself, to move quickly. It was their territory and she was now on unfamiliar ground, running blindly, losing her bearings through the chaos of the chase. It was only a matter of time before they surrounded the filly and her sister.

* * *

Though the rescue of Sweetie Belle was a success, the calls of wolves continued echoing through the forest. It was obvious to the little dragon that it was no time to celebrate. Taking the lead, Spike began to retrace his steps to find a path out of the forest and back to Sweet Apple Acres.

"Spike, where are you going?" Sweetie Belle asked the dragon.

"We should go and get out of the forest," Spike ordered the young unicorn. "Applejack must of found Applebloom, I bet they even found their way out of the forest."

"What if they're still in the forest!?" the unicorn said as she followed him, the howls of the Timberwolves become more and more frequent..

"Well… hmm… I can't just leave you alone," the purple dragon said.

"But they might need help, there were so many of them when we were together," Sweetie Belle told him. "I don't think even Applejack can take them all."

"That many?" Spike gulped. "C-can you find your way back from here?"

"I think so," the white filly answered. "Are you going alone? You can't! They'll swallow you up!"

"But they're scared of my fire, maybe I can help," the young dragon rebutted. "I have to help somehow! I can't just let them eat two of my friends! You get back to Sweet Apple Acres and I'll try to find Applejack and Applebloom."

"Good luck, Spike!" the young unicorn said as she hurried out of the forest.

* * *

"Ok, so where to start…" Spike said as he wondered where the Apple sisters could be. He continued to here howls from deeper in the woods and along with them, more Timberwolves appeared but they seemed disinterested in him. They all headed in the direction of the howls.

If they were calls, then there needed to be a reason to call. Maybe the wolves had the sisters cornered or were trying to corner them. Either way, it was a good guess that Applejack and Applebloom were probably in the same direction. There was no possible way that Spike, being so small, could keep up with these swift predators. But perhaps there was another way.

"Alright, alright… it's for Applejack and Applebloom. There's no other pony around to help. It's up to you, Spike!" the young dragon convinced himself as he looked down yet another cliff, even steeper than the last. "You can do it! YOU! CAN! DO IT!"

Yet another howl summoned more Timberwolves as they ran deeper into the forest, following their fellow wolves' wail. He began to rush towards the edge only to break harshly at the very edge. Seeing the large vertical drop, Spike's resolve dissipated and was replaced with nervousness and fear. "I-I… can't do it…"

* * *

"Applejack, are ya ok?" the youngest Apple sibling asked, noticing that her sister was finding it hard to breath.

"Y-you kiddin', I-I can keep this u-up all day," Applejack replied, taking a ragged breath with each step she took forward. Most would agree that the farm pony was pretty athletic, not even Ponyville's rodeo star could outrun the pack of hungry hunters behind her forever. She was long since lost; the poor earth pony could not recognize a single landmark that told her that she was in some familiar part of the Everfree. And that was definitely not a good sign, not with her legs starting to lose their strength.

"Applejack, I'm sorry…" Applebloom apologized to her sister, tears welling up in her eyes. "It's all our fault that we're here… We should've listen to ya, Applejack."

"K-keep that chin up, Applebloom!" her sister replied, though still struggling to catch her breath. "We're gonna make it out of here! And then you'll be grounded for two weeks for not listenin' to me!"

"But Applejack…" the red-headed filly said.

"Not but's and that's final Applebloom," Applejack ordered. However, their situation was fast becoming dire straits as the gap between them and the ravenous pack was slowly closing. And unfortunately, it only worsened as yet another wooden wolf attempted to ambush the siblings but this one was lucky enough to succeed in finally laying a claw on the blond farmer. "AGH!"

"Applejack!" Applebloom exclaimed, seeing the small trickle of crimson running down her sister's leg.

"Don'cha fret, it's just a scratch," the earth pony said. She was not lying to the young filly, it was merely a small scratch but it was also a harbinger about the ticking clock they had. Her reflexes had slowed from the strenuous amount of running she had been doing and she had already seen it affect her speed but her injury made it all the more apparent. It was obvious that the Timberwolves were not going to quit in their hunt, so Applejack was forced to think outside the box in order to ensure that at least her younger sister safely made it out of the forest. "Applebloom, I have an idea. When I tell ya to, ya hightail it out of here, find somewhere safe and hide! Got it?"

"Ok, Applejack," the little filly nodded.

"Ready..." the elder sister warned the filly, starting to time her throw.

"NOW!" Applejack said, whirling around and tossing her younger with all her might behind the pursuing predators.

Landing with an "umph," Applebloom quickly scrambled to her feet and began to gallop in the opposite direction as fast as her young legs could take her. But just like her sister, Applebloom was completely lost within the deep, dark inner forest. It was impossible to tell where she was going but she was satisfied with getting away from the Timberwolves. Of course she had second thoughts about leaving her sister but disobeying her was the original cause of this situation.

In hindsight, Applejack saw that it was not such a great decision. Applebloom might have been a smaller meal but a much easier one at that. It was an obvious choice for hunters, get the easy meal before she gets away, come back for the bigger. Applejack had now left her younger sister to the mercy of the Timberwolves as a few stayed behind to ensure that the main course did not escape before the rest of the pack were able to enjoy the appetizer.

* * *

Applebloom again found herself in a dire situation as the wolves that chose to follow her were again closing in on her. Though the filly had somewhat rested up while on her sister's back, she was still very exhausted from her previous chase. Fortunately, her terrain favored her. The narrow paths allowed her to slip through small opening that forced the Timberwolves to find alternate paths. But even this only delayed the inevitable as her speed slowed drastically with every second the hunt continued.

She soon found her unable to run any longer. Eying a small nook inside a small hill, the redheaded filly quickly wriggled her way into the cramped hole. The Timberwolves would not be so easily fooled as they quickly sniffed her out and began shoving snouts and claws inside her hiding place. They swiped at her, just barely unable to reach their prey by mere inches. Their snouts blocked off the entrance to the small burrow as they barked and attempted to take a bite of the filly that tried pushing herself further into the back wall of the hole. The frightened filly was to be able to see the drool drip of the wolves' wooden fangs each time they opened and clamped their jaws shut, letting out a terrified scream as she did.

* * *

The sudden scream startled the purple dragon right off the edge of the cliff as he found himself plummeting disgracefully towards the ground below. Soon he found himself once again mounted on the back of a Timberwolf as it struggled to throw him off and move towards the howl. It was no use, the dragon had his arms wrapped around the predator's neck and he had no intention of letting go.

"AAAAAH-HA-HA-HA!" Spike cried out as he went along for the bumpy ride.

* * *

The wolves that had surrounded Applejack had trickled down in number to measly handful. Most had been scared away by the potential of this full grown and decided to take their chances with the easier meal of a filly. The few that remained did so out of stubbornness but, one by one, the wolves left after being dismantled by the athletic mare and having to regenerate. It was a losing battle on their part as with their dwindling numbers, they stood less and less of a chance at taking the full grown pony down, even when they had the advantage of her low stamina. Just as their numbers diminished to final two, a new, smaller pack of these magical creatures ran past the scene, one carrying the young dragon as he bounced around on its back.

"Spike?" Applejack asked herself as she tried to follow the passing group, only to be cut off by the two remaining wolves. They snarled and growled at the pony, warning her that proceeding will result in them pouncing on her. She slowly backed away from the duo but as she did, one decided to lunge and tried to take a premature bite out of its prey. The apple farmer quickly swung her hind legs and sent the brash wolf crashing into a nearby tree, dismantling it on impact. Pulling itself back together, it simply escaped from the confrontation, giving up on this takedown just as all the others before it.

And then there was one, and it seemed just as hardheaded as the last as it crept towards the mare. However, this one realized that it was now alone, completely separated from the rest of its pack. It tucked its tail between its legs, lowered its ears and began to whimper as it stared at the triumphant pony.

"Boo!" Applejack said, scaring off the crying wolf. She watched it run off into the canopy of the forest and then remembered that her sister and now possibly Spike were still very much in danger. Hearing a howl from the wolves, the earth pony restarted her search for her sister, and, now, the young dragon.

* * *

"WHOA!" Spike yelled as he struggled to keep himself on the Timberwolf. The wolf was start to enjoy torturing the dragon as he bucked and maneuvered wildly. Eventually it came to point where losing its tag-along no longer mattered, instead he reveled in the fear that it brought him. So much so that it lost concentration in the path it was running and crashed directly into a tree, dismantling itself and sending the poor dragon jockey flying.

"Umph," he groaned as he slowly picked himself in the middle of the frenzy of wolves as they continued trying to dig their way to the filly hiding inside the tiny hole. But soon, they switched their attention to the newcomer as they began to circle him, like sharks. Spike could feel the fear well up in his body as he broke out into a cold sweat, completely forgetting his advantage of fire. The build-up would not last much longer as the first wolf pounced on the young dragon, who guarded himself using his arm.

Spike gritted his teeth, shut his eyes tightly and waited for the pain from the bite to hit him but he felt nothing. He cautiously opened on eye only to see that his scales had broken the Timberwolf's wooden teeth. The mares used to say that he was just blowing smoke when he said that he was tough, wait until they hear that he was the ultimate weapon against Timberwolves. He smiled at the thought but a snarl and howl from the surrounding predators brought him back to Equestria. An inedible prey is something that the Timberwolves were not interested as threw the little dragon aside and continued to dig into the dirt wall, desperately trying to reach their meal.

"Alright, you guys wanna play rough? I'll play rough!" Spike said as he began to take in a long breath. The ravenous pack paid him no mind even as his chest began to expand with air. Almost as if on cue, Applejack caught up just as the young dragon lungs reached their max volume.

"Spike!" Applejack called out to the dragon but quickly paused her advancement, seeing him begin to release a firestorm from his mouth. Sensing the sudden burst of heat from behind them, the Timberwolves stopped their excavation of the nook and turned around to see the giant wave of fire, which just managed to singe the ears of the entire pack. As Spike finished his firebreathing, the wolves again lost their appetites as they backed into each other.

Spike began taking yet another breath in and just that seemed to be enough send the entire group of hunters running in fear. And as the last of them left the scorched scene, Spike gently let out the breath he was holding in as he fell over. No longer seeing any teeth or claws trying to reach her, Applebloom poked her head out of her hiding place. As far as she could tell, the coast was clear except for a collapsed dragon and her sister, who seemed to be awestruck for some reason.

"Spike! Applejack!" Applebloom called them, snapping her sister back into reality.

"Applebloom! I'm so glad to see yer alright!" Applejack said as she hugged her sister. "Spike! Spike?"

"Are the Timberwolves gone?" the dragon asked, breathing heavily.

"Yeah… thanks to you… thank you, Spike…" the blond farmer affectionately nuzzled him. "Ya should be thankin' him too, Applebloom! He's the one that saved yer little flank from being wolf chow!"

"Thanks, Spike!" Applebloom said, helping the dragon sit back up.

"Whew! Didn't think I had another one of those in me!" Spike told them. His little stunt had really taken it out of his young body, not only was he tired but his stomach was begging for something to eat.

"Come on, let's get outta here," Applejack said as she lifted both onto her back.

* * *

It was long, confusing and, fortunately, peaceful trek back to the farm lands of Sweet Apple Acres. Perhaps Spike's mere presence warded off any new attacks from the Timberwolves or perhaps the pack moved on out of the area out of fear of the firebreather. Either way, the two ponies considered themselves lucky that they had a dragon for a friend. And it seemed that perhaps a reward was due to the hero of the day, at least it seemed this way to Applejack.

Just as they reached what they believed to be the edge of the forest, they began to hear calls of "Applejack!", "Spike!" and "Applebloom!" They came from the usually silent giant stallion of the Apple family. Seemingly alone, until the three wanderers came within a stone's throw of Big Macintosh. As they did, two fillies popped out of from behind the red stallion, much to his disliking.

"Applebloom!" the unicorn and Pegasus fillies yelled, running up the trio.

"Didn't I tell ya both to go back to the farmhouse and stay there with Granny Smith," the eldest of the Apple siblings scolded the two unknown tag-alongs.

"We couldn't leave before we knew that Applebloom was ok!" Scootaloo argued back.

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, standing by her friend. Big Mac merely shook his head in frustration.

"Hey now! If Big Macintosh told y'all to do something, ya listen! Don't you remember how this all started!" Applejack also scolded the filly, raising her voice as she did so. "It's still dangerous out here!"

"What happened there, sis?" Big Macintosh asked Applejack, pointing at the scratch on her front leg.

"Oh, it's just a scratch, Big Mac…" Applejack said before her brother lifted her right off her hoofs and onto his back. "I'll be fine… really!"

"Nnnope!" the big brother said simply as he prepared to carry the stubborn pony home.

"Wait! Hold yer horses, Big Mac!" Applejack ordered her brother who was already heading back to their farmhouse. She removed her hat and placed it on Spike's head, an act that astonished almost all present, including the little dragon. His head was just bit too small to fill it as it sank covered his eyes. "I wanna thank ya, Spike. Ya don't know how much it meant to me that ya came saved my lil sis… and me. It was mighty brave, what you did…"

"I don't know what to say, Applejack…" the thunderstruck dragon said. He was completely caught off guard, it was something he would have never predicted would happen. In all the time that he had known Applejack, there were very, very few times that she was separated from her trademark Stetson hat. Many considered it a permanent part of her, something she would forever refuse to give up, but yet, she had given it to him. He could only imagine how much it meant to her and how hard of a decision it was to give it to him.

"But…" Spike said, removing the hat. Apologizing in advance to Big Macintosh, he began to climb up with hat in claw onto the large red pony, eventually reaching the mare on his back. With a swift movement, he plopped the hat back onto what he thought was its rightful place, back on Applejack's head. "I know it means a lot to you and I know you want to thank me but, it's enough to know that you and Applebloom are safe. Besides, it looks better on you!"

"Spike…" the apple farmer said quietly as her cheeks began to redden.

"Anyways, the look on Twilight's face when I tell her that I scared away a whole pack of Timberwolves is all I need!" Spike said excitedly, hopping the giant red stallion. "Make sure she gets her rest, Big Mac! It might a little scratch but she still needs to take it easy!"

"Eeyup!" the stallion nodded.

"Well, ya think ya can make it home by yerself, Spike?" Applejack said, hiding her blush beneath her hat.

"I think I can manage that…" Spike assured her.

Noticing the setting sun, the little dragon waved good-bye as he rushed back to his library-home, not wanting to be near the mystical but dangerous forest alone after dark.


	8. Between an Apple and a Hard Place

**Between an Apple and a Hard Place**

Returning home very late, Spike tried to sneak into the library, not wanting to wake the sleeping unicorn. But as he slowly cracked the door open, he noticed a large pile of notebooks near what was Twilight's desk. It definitely was not like her to leave her work area in such disarray. Approaching the mound of what he now recognized to be the journals he had shown Twilight, he took the first off only to find a purple horn underneath it.

"Twilight…?" Spike asked quietly, which caused the pile to begin to stir. "Twilight!"

"Oooooh…" the unicorn moaned as she shook off the books covering her body. "Spike? You're home early…"

"Umm… it's nighttime already, Twilight," her assistant informed the ignorant unicorn.

"Huh?" Twilight stuck her head out the nearest window and saw the shadowy night, whose only light was a crescent moon. The only thing visibly out was her pet owl that was resting on an outside branch, hooting to its heart content.

"Are you alright, Twilight? You seem kind of…" Spike cut himself off, not wanting to insult Twilight too badly. "Tired…"

"Oh… Sorry, I guess I overdid it with the studying again," Twilight lied, patting down her wild mane. "You should probably head of to bed, Spike! It's way past your bedtime!"

"You don't want me to help you out here?" Spike said, taking up an arm full of books.

"Oh! No, no… I can take care of it myself…" the purple unicorn said, levitating many of the journals and organizing them into neat stacks. "You go get your rest."

"But I wanted to tell you something!" the young dragon said with an added yawn.

"Now, now, Spike. Whatever you need to tell me can wait until morning," Twilight said, levitating him up to his bed and tucking him in.

"Ok… But you'll listen to me tomorrow, right?" Spike yawned, turning over onto his side.

"Of course I will, Spike," the unicorn patted her young assistant's head. "Good night…"

Heading back to her mess, Twilight gave a great sigh of disappointment. Even through her amazing effort to find when her feelings developed, she had come up empty hoofed. She had nowhere else to turn to find the answer she looked for, but her memories of their time at Canterlot. With all those flashbacks she had about all the things she had taken for granted that Spike did for her, it was no mystery to her about _why_ she fell for him. Thinking about it more and more, she began to realize that _when_ perhaps did not matter as much as she stressed that it did. What she needed to do now focus on earning his affections, already wasting so much time after she found out that the unicorn that he loved loved him back.

As she stored the journals back in their rightful place, she noticed a lone journal, somewhat different than the rest, hidden against the back of the drawer. When she opened it, she found that it could not be hers by any stretch of the imagination. The penmanship was nothing close to that of any of the other journals she had written, it was much cruder. Almost as if the writer was just learning to write.

"No…" Twilight said to herself as a thought popped into her head. "Was Spike keeping a journal when we were in Canterlot too?"

She read through the barely legible beginning pages and found that the writer often referred to her in third person, so it was not possible that it was somehow hers or perhaps a remnant of the old occupants of the library. Another clue was a slightly singed page, perhaps burnt when the young dragon was still learning to control his fire-breath. And finally, the biggest clue was when the writer mentioned his _claws_ growing sharper and bigger. It could not be anyone else but Spike, as far as Twilight considered.

Unfortunately, since Spike was just learning to write properly while he kept this particular journal, his writing was large, spread out and barely legible. A single entry took up a large chunk of the journal as a whole, without it having too much substance to it. The information she was able to get from the journal dealt with how it felt for him to be growing up, learning to write and life with her, in a very general sense, due to his vocabulary being very limited back then. Even more disappointing, it was cut short by what seemed like years that they spent together. However, there was a bit of serendipity in this.

If Spike had kept _one_ journal by himself, without having been asked by her to do so, he might have kept _another_ journal or perhaps even more, which would grow more detailed and help her get into his mindset, giving her the upper hand in this battle for his affections. However, Twilight kept in mind that she did not know where these other journals might be, if they even existed. Second, she already lost a lot of headway with him with the whole fiasco of finding the origins of her feelings, so she could not afford to waste too much time looking for and reading up on the dragon's possible entries. She was the underdog in this fight, seeing how Spike was already infatuated with two mares, neither of them herself, and she need to find a way to balance spending time with her long-time assistant and figuring him out using his personal journals if she wanted to tip the scales on Rarity.

For now, it was more important for her to spend some quality time with Spike, and tomorrow would be a good day to start. As she finished packing away all her old journals, she headed up stairs and noticed the young dragon was already fast asleep. By his spread out position, he must have been extra tired from whatever work he had helped with over at Sweet Apple Acres. But something bothered her; his bed seemed a little too small for him nowadays. She knew that he was so accustomed to sleeping in his little-basket bed but it was so obvious in his current position that he outgrew it already. One day soon, they would have to go bed hunting but for now…

"You can sleep with me, Spike…" Twilight said, levitating his unconscious body onto her bed. Lying down next to him, she wrapped her two front legs around him. She heard him give satisfying sigh as he cuddled with her as Twilight soon joined him in pleasant sleep.

* * *

The little dragon awoke the next morning, a bit confused over where he ended up during his sleep. It definitely was not his regular bed, no it was far too big and, admittedly, comfy for it to be his tiny basket-bed. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and slowly adjusted to the bright light coming from the morning sun outside the window. A minute or two later, he finally was able to see that he somehow woke up on Twilight's bed. He had shared a bed with Twilight for long while, since Canterlot in fact.

It was a little strange for him but at the same time very comfortable. However, there was something bugging him. Twilight was nowhere to be found. She did usually get up earlier than him and, without any real reason to get up, the young dragon usually just slept in. Twilight might have been downstairs already, studying or just reading for the fun of it as usual. Then it hit him, he had not told Twilight about his heroics at Sweet Apple Acres.

"Twilight! TWILIGHT!" Spike called out, climbing off the bed.

"I'm downstairs, sleepy-head!" the unicorn answered.

"Oh boy, do I have a story for you!" the little dragon said as he ran down the steps. But he paused as he saw yet another breakfast laid out and ready for him. Even more puzzling, all his usual chores seemed to be done for him already. "Uh… Twilight?"

"Yes, Spike?" Twilight asked back.

"You feeling alright?" her assistant asked her. There had been very few times that she ever did his chores for him and those were the times when she wanted him to help her with a new spell. If it were up to him, he would rather do his chores instead of testing most of her spells. Except for the mustache spell, that one was one he did not regret. Maybe a beard spell would be pretty cool too…

"Of course, Spike! I just thought we could spend the day together, take a break from all the work both of us have been taking on. Maybe go out for a walk or we can try to find some jewels! I still remember Rarity's detection spell! Doesn't that sound good?" the purple unicorn asked him.

"Um… yeah! It actually does sound fun! We should do this more often!" Spike exclaimed, happily helping himself to a serving of all the dishes in front of him. "WAIT! I forgot to tell you about…"

"SPIKE!" three certain fillies screamed in unison as they barged into the library, disturbing the peaceful breakfast. "YOU HAVE TO COME WITH US!"

"Hold on!" the little dragon answered, trying to swallow as much as he could. The Crusaders had formed chain, each biting the other tail with the first biting down on Spike's tail, to pull the dragon from his meal and get him to where they needed him. "Let… me… finish… my breakfast…!"

"Hold on a minute, girls," Twilight said, pulling them off the dragon's tail. "Why do you need Spike all of the sudden?"

"Well, he only saved our lives and drove away the Timberwolves from Sweet Apple Acres! I thought he told you by now!" Sweetie Belle squeaked.

"Spike, is that true?" Twilight asked, turning to her assistant for an answer.

"Yup! This dragon saved the day yesterday, all by himself!" Spike said as he stood, positively beaming with pride. "Those Timberwolves never knew what hit them! They'll think twice before coming back to Ponyville while I'm around!"

"Wow, Spike! I'm so proud of you!" Twilight hugged the little hero warmly.

"Th-thanks, Twilight," Spike said, caught a little off-guard by the surprisingly passionate embrace.

"So… Ya comin', Spike?" Applebloom asked the dragon. "Big Mac, Granny Smith and me all have a surprise for ya at Sweet Apple Acres! Ya can come too, Twilight!"

"What kind of surprise?" the excited dragon asked.

"Sorry, can't tell ya! Ya just gotta check it out for yerself!" the country filly answered.

"What about Applejack? Isn't she going to come too?" Twilight asked her friend's younger sister.

"She didn't want to come for some reason…" Scootaloo answered for her reluctant friend. "Maybe you can talk to her and get her to come."

"Is something wrong with her?" Spike asked the fillies. It did not seem like Applejack to refuse something like that, especially when she tried to give him her hat to thank him for saving her little sister.

"She doesn't wanna talk about it… Big Mac said to let her be… but I'm a little worried too," Applebloom answered nervously. "What if she got hurt worse than we thought!? All because of me…"

"Don't worry, Applebloom," Twilight reassured the red-headed filly. "I'll go see what happened. As soon as we're finished talking, we'll head over to see Spike's surprise. Where is Applejack?"

"She's in her room," Applebloom answered her. "We'll be in the western side of the orchard. Applejack should know where, if you can get her to come…"

And with that, Twilight sent her assistant off with the three young mares and she went off to find her friend.

* * *

"Applejack! Aaaaaapplejack!" Twilight called her friend through her door after getting no answer by knocking.

"Twilight? That you?" Applejack asked, cracking open her bedroom door a bit.

"Hey, AJ! How come you didn't want come to give Spike his surprise… whatever it is?" the purple unicorn asked her back.

Poking her head out to ensure that her friend was indeed alone, the blond earth pony allowed the unicorn to enter her room. Her room was not a mess, but it was untidy, with her bed sheets thrown across the floor, her trusty lasso joining it along with her hat. Her usually tied mane and tail were allowed their freedom to wildly rest wherever it fell on her body. She looked a little exhausted, not having slept for very long if at all made obvious by the dark marks forming under her eyes.

"It's not that I'm ungrateful, Twilight. He saved Applebloom, my lil' sis, I could never thank him enough," the apple farmer began at an anxious speed. "I mean, it's not that I don't wanna give him somethin', just not that, Twilight, not that…"

"Hold on, Applejack! Slow down!" Twilight tried calming the edgy pony. "What exactly are they giving Spike?"

"Yer right, just gotta calm down…" Applejack said, taking in deep breaths. "Ya see, it's been an Apple family tradition to plant a new tree for every new Apple that joins the family. All these tree are specially marked with our initials, Twilight. But they want to give Spike his own tree and welcome him into the family…"

"What's wrong with that, I thought you said you couldn't thank him enough for saving Applebloom?" her unicorn friend asked, confused.

"I… I just can't, Twilight…" Applejack answered.

"Applejack, it's alright. You can tell me anything!" Twilight said, giving her reinsuring smile.

"Ya noticed that Spike and me have been spendin' a lot of time together. And, well…" the earth pony paused to take in an deep breath. "I'm just gonna come out and say it… I think I have some feelin's for Spike."

Twilight had no response; she simply stared at her with shrunken irises and pupils. She was left astonished; as if she did not have enough competition for Spike's love with Rarity, but now she found a new rival in Applejack. Even worse, Twilight was at a clear disadvantage against both, with Spike already having feelings for either mare. However, neither had admitted their feelings to Spike yet and perhaps, if she can beat them to that, she would gain an edge against them. Along with the fact that she had the best opportunity to spend the most amount of time with the little dragon, she lives with him, and those possible journals of his, Twilight believed that she still could win the dragon's heart.

"Twilight? Ya there?" Applejack's voice brought the unicorn back into reality.

"Oh, I'm sorry… it's just…" Twilight said, shaking off the surprise of her friend's confession as well.

"It's doozy, I know," the apple farmer told her. "I'm not gonna take advantage of him like Rarity did; my feelin's for him are real, Twilight. But that's why I can't go to with ya'll and introduce him into the family. He deserves it and I can't think of anythin' else we can give him that would be just as fit. But if I do do that, I won't be able to have these feelin's for him without it bein' strange. He'd be one of the Apples…"

Twilight was a bit torn from the inside. On one hand, she could advise her friend to relinquish her feelings to allow herself to give Spike what even she thought to be only proper reward for his deeds, thus ridding her from the love struggle. On the other, Twilight could reassure Applejack that the ritual initiation into the Apple family would be purely symbolic and it was ok for her to continue to have feelings for the dragon; honest advice from a friend at the cost of having her continue as a rival in the quest for Spike's affections. Just like Applejack herself, Twilight found herself in rather difficult situation. But in the back of her mind, she knew she should not deny Applejack the chance to find her love, nor did she want to win over Spike by dishonest means, something he would surely find disappointing.

"Applejack… You should go," Twilight told her. "It's not like he's _really_ family, right? It wouldn't change anything between you and Spike."

"But it would be _like_ he was family, though…" Applejack said, clearly still distressed.

"Applejack, you've seen that he has some feelings for you already," the unicorn said, though it hurt her from within to say so. "Do you think he'll give up on you just because of this? You can't just give up on him…"

"Twilight…" the blond pony replied.

"Come on, let's go give Spike his surprise," Twilight interrupted her friend. "It'll mean that much more to him if it comes from you too."

Picking her signature hat off the floor with a nod, the two ponies headed out of her room and to the apple orchard to join the others who probably already waiting for them.

* * *

"THEY'RE COMING!" the three fillies announced, bouncing up and down as they saw the two mares come down the road.

"I'm sorry for the hold up, Applebloom, Big Mac, Granny Smith, Spike, everypony…" Applejack told them as they finally reached the small crowd.

A long silence followed as the Apple siblings looked to Granny Smith, who was merely staring blankly.

"Ahem…" Applebloom nudged the elderly pony.

"Oh yes!" Granny Smith exclaimed. "What is everypony doin' here?"

"Granny Smith, we're giving Spike his own tree… remember?" Applejack told her, trying to jog her memory. "Family tradition… done by the oldest in the Apple family…"

"Ah, ok… Stop treating me like a forgetful old foal!" the ornery earth pony said. "Uh… what are we doing here again?"

"Spike… the tree… Apple family tradition!" Applebloom said, starting to lose her patience.

"Spike, as I understand it, ya have saved my granddaughters from the Timberwolves in the Everfree Forrest," Granny Smith said, finally beginning the ceremony. "HOO-WEE! I remember my first run in with those pesky Timberwolves, they've been trouble since they day we've first settled here."

"Umm… Granny Smith…" the farming mare said, trying to keep the old pony from going off on a tangent.

"Right, right… Where was I now…? Ah yes… Spike, for yer bravery, we welcome ya as kin into our fold. As tradition, we plant a brand new tree in the orchard in this certain area whenever a new Apple joins the family. This one right here is yers, Spike. Since ya ain't exactly a newborn foal, we couldn't plant a saplin' for ya."

It was a small tree, although a few around it were not fully grown either. Other than his, three in particular were smaller than the rest, each marked with some letters. The smallest of the three was marked with an "AB," the largest with a "BM," the last was marked with "AJ."

"As you can see, each tree has the initials of the Apple it was planted for," Granny Smith continued. "It is usually the parents that carve the initials into the tree, but I think you can manage that with those fancy claws of yers."

"Ok…" Spike replied, a bit nervous of being put in the spotlight. He calmly walked up to the tree and rose his claw. Carefully, he carved a letter "S" into his tree and stepped back to look at his work.

"And with that, ya can now consider yerself an honorary Apple!" the elderly pony told the young dragon. All the ponies present stomped their hooves in celebration of the induction of the new Apple family member. Spike, not being used to all the attention, gave a nervous smile and scratched the back of his head.

"Thanks, everypony. I don't know what to say," Spike said, showing a bit of embarrassment.

"Ya don't gotta thank us, Spike," Applejack said, moving closer to him. "You more than earned it."

"So, Spike how's it feel to be an Apple!" Scootaloo asked the blushing dragon.

"I've never heard of any other pony becomin' an 'honorary Apple' before!" Applebloom told him.

"But I bet no pony's ever driven away a pack of Timberwolves by themselves before either!" Sweetie Belle squeaked.

As the Crusaders crowded the embarrassed dragon the two mares watched from a distance away.

"See, look at that. He's the same old dragon," Twilight pointed out.

"Yer right, Twilight. I was worryin' over nothin'. Thanks, Twilight…" Applejack answered the unicorn.

"I told you…" Twilight said quietly. "If you love him, don't give up on him… because I certainly won't…"

"Whatdaya mean, Twilight?" the blond farmer asked her. "Twilight?"

"I mean, you're not the only one with feelings for him, Applejack," the unicorn admitted, walking to the dragon, leaving the country mare to gather her thoughts.

"Hey, Spike. We still got time to find some gems before it gets dark. You feeling up to it?" Twilight asked her assistant. Spike excitedly nodded his head as the unicorn levitated him onto her back.

"Bye guys!" the pair said as they waved good-bye to the ponies.


	9. The Hungry Scout Scores

**The Hungry Scout Scores**

**AN:** Alright, another update. Sorry about the long wait. The next chapter will be up soon. As for any request to read stories, I will finally be able to get to them. I'm sorry it took so long but I'm out of school and I'll be able to enjoy the stories recommended to me without any distractions.

* * *

The following days had been a strain on Spike, as Twilight and Applejack would each vie for his attention and company every day. Their behavior had become very suspicious to the young dragon as well as mentally exhausting; he hardly got time to himself. One minute, he would be dining out with Twilight, the next Applejack would be dragging him off to calm stroll around the scenic lands of Sweet Apple Acres. Then he would suddenly be whisked away by Twilight to get a treat from Sugarcube Corner only to be lassoed by Applejack as she gave him a private show of all her best rodeo tricks. But even before he could start enjoying the show, he found himself teleported back into the library.

"Oh, hey there, Spike!" Twilight said, pretending she had nothing to do with his sudden transportation into their home. "How about a good book?"

"Actually, Rarity's supposed to come back from her trip today," Spike answered, fearfully backing away from the unicorn. "I was kind of hoping to meet her when she got off her train."

"Rarity's… coming back…?" Twilight asked herself quietly as her magical hold on a book she held broke. With the stiff competition from Applejack, Twilight had forgotten all about Rarity, and her return would bring with it a whole plethora of new problems and challenges. The good news was that she doubted Rarity would be ready for unforeseen opposition from two new ponies after the dragon's heart. She kept in mind that she was still at a disadvantage against the other two but she could hedge her bet with Spike's possible journals. However, competing with Applejack had thrown Twilight's search off. She could not afford to lose so much ground to her friend, but those journals could be the table turner that she needed.

Another factor came into play when she saw her assistant's face; he seemed to be a bit scared of her. He refused to turn his back to her, he was breaking out into a cold sweat, and he stared at her with eyes wide open and shrunken pupils. Twilight knew saying he was "scared" was an understatement, he looked terrified. Looking back, she and Applejack were smothering him a bit, but she had not intended to. It was not like her to be so clingy, nor was it like Applejack, but neither could help themselves. They barely gave the poor dragon time to breathe between their outings with him, and perhaps she should let him do what he wants rather than dragging him off in an attempt to woo him.

"So can I go… you know… alone?" the little dragon asked timidly.

"Of course, I'm sorry about dragging you everywhere lately," Twilight shook off herself back into reality. "You go ahead and give Rarity her welcome back."

"It's not that I don't like hanging out with you or anything Twilight…" Spike explained himself, feeling a little guilty for asking to be left alone. "I mean, it was fun but…"

"I understand, Spike," the unicorn gave the dragon a reassuring smile. "Now go, or you'll miss her train!"

"Thanks, Twilight!" Spike told her, giving a sigh of relief as he left.

Not one to waste time, Twilight began looking for her assistant's personal journals. However, it would not be an easy task, having grown accustomed to Spike being able to fetch anything she required. The task would be even more daunting knowing how her scaly friend did not like to organize his things as herself, and so the location of these mythical journals could be anywhere in the library, or even back in Canterlot, if they existed at all.

* * *

Spike had finally gotten some time away from the two mares that were apparently losing their minds. Just a while ago, it was challenge to get some attention from anypony but now he wished nothing more than to be invisible or ignored. At first, Spike had thought perhaps they were giving him the "hero's treatment" for having saved Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, but now, he was not too sure. He would understand if they gave him such a treatment for a day, what with how much he actually enjoyed the attention and gifts, but all their attention soon turned into something very familiar.

As he traveled the Ponyville Train Station, he thought about why their treatment seemed so familiar. Attempts to impress him, gifts, lavish attention, the more and more he thought about it, the more he realized it was the same way he was towards Rarity and Applejack. But he could not believe it, he was always the one doing the chasing and crushing on the mares. For it to be the opposite was incomprehensible to the little dragon, he did always dream of being a mare-killer, but to him, that was all it was, a dream. He shook off the thought as wishful thinking as he took a seat on a nearby bench.

It was not long before he heard the bellowing whistle of the approaching. It was still very far, a mere speck in the distance, but Spike was still excited to see it. He had sorely missed his "Lady Rarity," partly because of his crush on her and partly because he knew she would not drown him with attention like two other mares he knew. Spending some time away from Twilight and Applejack's evidently romantic advances to help Rarity with whatever she needed sounded like a vacation to the dragon at this point. The brightly colorful train slowed to a halt at the station and opened its door, revealing an exhausted Rarity carrying a great deal of bags along with her cat.

"Need some help, Rarity?" the dragon greeted the tired unicorn.

"Thank you, Spike! It has been a long week for me," Rarity said, levitating some of the bags she held into his arms. "First, the mare who wanted a dress demonstration hated the color of the dress, though I thought it looked perfect on her, but the client is always right. So I had to stay in Canterlot an extra day for her to choose the color of her dress. She was a very fussy mare, I can't imagine how her husband deals with her. Then I missed my train to the Crystal Empire and it was a four hour wait for the next. On top of it all, I had wait for a restock on some of the material I needed from the Crystal Empire, which took two whole days, but I had no choice, their ewes' wool is so exotic and comfortable, it would give my dresses a unique flare like no others in all of Canterlot!"

"Sounds like you had it rough," Spike commented as he followed the unicorn back to her boutique.

"Ugh… Enough of that. How have you been, Spike?" the dress maker asked. "Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

"Well… There was this one thing…" the little dragon said, holding out with a cocky smile, being more than happy to toot his own horn.

"Go on!" Rarity playfully prodded him to continue.

"I did manage to save Sweetie Belle and Applebloom from a hungry pack of Timberwolves," Spike said casually as he polished his knuckles.

"Really?" the unicorn asked a bit in disbelief.

"Yup! The Apples even gave me my own tree over at Sweet Apple Acres!" the dragon answered excitedly.

"Wow, Spike… that's amazing… I must thank you properly," Rarity told the dragon, who lost all the color in his face after hearing that. "Spike, are you alright?"

"Uh… umm… yeah…" Spike lied, swallowing hard as he did.

"Spike, I can tell you are lying to me…" the white unicorn pouted.

"I-it's nothing, really…" the nervous dragon told her. "It's just… Twilight and Applejack have been acting… well… very nice to me… more than usual. And it's kind of freaking me out…"

"What do you mean by 'very nice'?" Rarity asked, her suspicions aroused.

"Well, they've been taking me out a lot lately and giving lots of presents and food… and… they've been basically fighting to have me with them…" Spike said, trying to convince more himself than Rarity that it was simply friendly gestures.

"Oh really…" the mare commented, quickly catching on to what was happening. "Have they… tried anything else with you?"

"L-like what?" Spike asked as a deep blush formed on his face, having some ideas of what she meant already in mind.

"Nevermind…" Rarity excused him from answering her, not really wanting to hear the wrong answer.

"I don't know… it was fun at first, having all their attention, but…" the dragon said with a long face. "It's too much for me…"

"Hmm…" the white unicorn hummed, pondering her next move. The rest of their walk was left in silence until they arrived at the door of the unicorn's shop.

"Thank you for the help, Spike," Rarity said. "If you want, you can stay here with me for a while and take a break from the rush. I'm sure you need the break from what it sounds like."

That sounded like a dream come true to Spike. Nodding his head vigorously, the dragon headed inside the boutique, ready for his peaceful retreat from the unicorn and earth pony.

* * *

Even before she began her search for the journals that she hoped existed, something gnawed at her in the back of her mind. Twilight had found herself feeling a bit guilty for even thinking of opening up a journal that contained the most intimate thoughts of her long-time friend. Of course, the first time was a mistake of curiosity, when she did not know that the journal belonged to the little dragon. This... invading Spike's personal space, it was an act so obtrusive, so out of character for her (AH! See what I did there? Don't worry, I'll delete this parentheses later), she hated the fact that she even considered it.

Respect for each others' privacy was something the two had developed over their many years together. But for some reason, all that flew out the window when it came to losing Spike to either one of her friends. Having this time to think clearly and reflect finally reminded her of wrong she was about to commit against him and their friendship, and brought her back to her senses. A sudden knock at the door thrusted the unicorn back reality.

To almost no surprise, it was Applejack, ready with her lasso to continue their ongoing game of "Steal the Dragon."

"Oh hey, Applejack," Twilight said.

"Oh, I thought that Spike would be with ya here…" Applejack said as she put away her rope.

"Oh no… he's over with Rarity. She came back today and he wanted to see her, so I let him go," the purple unicorn replied.

"Ya said Spike's over wit' Rarity, huh?" Applejack asked her friend.

"Uh-huh…" the princess's protégée answered.

"Thanks. I'll talk to ya later, Twilight," her friend said, taking her leave.

"Wait!" Twilight called out to her friend. "I… I think we all need to talk. I'll come with you."

* * *

"So… Spike… how do you feel about Applejack and Twilight?" Rarity asked inquisitively.

"Well…" Spike paused nervously, not really knowing what to say, what answer to give the unicorn. She might take offense of he told her about his feelings for Applejack, and Twilight... she was an entirely different case altogether. It was difficult position he was put in, but fortunately, or maybe not so much, a knock at the boutique's door gave the dragon a much need distraction.

The very mares that Rarity had been asking about were now at her door. A long, awkward silence followed as the three mares merely exchanged looks.

"So… it seems that I wasn't the only one harboring feelings for our little helper…" Rarity said, neither in an angry or sad tone, rather, in a matter-of-factly one.

"Ya mean that…" Applejack began her question, only to be cut off by the answer.

"Yes, Applejack… I do have feelings for Spike as well," the white unicorn said. "I suppose Twilight hadn't told you."

"Who was it, Ra… oh…" Spike said, entering the awkward aura around the group trio of mares. "Hi, Twilight, Applejack…"

Again, silence ensued. The dragon was sweating from the anxiousness in the air. He was there for mere minutes, but it seemed like an eternity as no words were spoken for the entire length, and without them, he was clueless as to the current situation.

"I think we owe Spike an explanation," Twilight finally broke the silence.

"It's only right…" Applejack added.

"Agreed," Rarity nodded.

"About what… exactly?" Spike asked with a gulp.

"Spike…" the three mares said simultaneously.

However, it seemed that not one of them had noticed a new observer who was eavesdropping just outside the window, a very literal fly on the wall. The deliciously amorous event was too much for the shape-shifting bug to resist. The rapid and numerous public displays of affection of the mares to the dragon had attracted the hungry metamorph to their small town, like a fly drawn to the strong scent of garbage. The Changeling was no fighter, merely a scout in search of feed for the Hive. This overt display of affection was not enough to feed the Hive, but it did involve half of the six ponies that had helped foil their Queen's plans in Canterlot. He listened in silence as the mares continued their confession.

"Spike… there's no easier way to tell you…" Twilight said, stepping a bit closer to him.

"Spike… I know you've noticed the way they've been acting, but I also have same confession to make," Rarity said as the dragon eyes widened.

"Spike… Ya know that I don' like to beat around the bush…" Applejack told him as he began sweating bullets.

The moment was whetting the Changeling's appetite, who nearly allowed his saliva to give away his location outside, but the dragon on the inside was nearly having a heart-attack as it pounded painfully in his chest. He knew what they were about to say, just as the Changeling did, but, unlike the shape-shifter, he was not sure if he wanted to hear it. Spike could not possibly imagine what would come with what was about to be said and the fear of the unknown seeped into him, like venom from a snake that paralyzed him where he stood.

"I love you, Spike," each confessed simultaneously, causing the nervous-wreck of a dragon to faint.

They crowded around the unconscious dragon as the Changeling outside the boutique beat his wings, signaling his satisfaction from the lovely feast he just had. His mind clear from hunger, he realized what he needed to do. This turn of events needed to be reported to the Queen immediately. Surely she would have good use for the situation and information he had found. Quickly taking the appearance of an unsuspecting, unremarkable Pegasus, he took off to find his leader.


	10. A Long Time Coming

**A Long Time Coming**

**AN:** Alright the new chapter is here. Sorry about the longer wait but with Mother's day and my sister driving me crazy about her wedding, I haven't had too much time to write. Since I'm out of school, at least for the summer, I can write a good bit more. A small spoiler for the next few chapters: they are going to be more individualized pairing teases between Spike and each of the three mares. As such, I decided to name this small arc "The Juggling Act." First up is... Twilight! I'll announce the next mare after the next chapter! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! Remember to: Read, Review and Enjoy!

* * *

The lone Changeling scout hurried over the Equestrian plains, a large and wide expanse of nothing more than meadows and grass with isolated cottages spread across the prairies. It was a perfect place to hide the large hive of Changelings; no guards patrolling the mostly empty grasslands and remote enough from any settlement to remain undetected. Ever since the fiasco of a takeover in Canterlot, the Hive had been slowly been encroaching on the ponies' territories and sending in scouts for signs of weakness or chances to feed the hungry Hive. But all the waiting had taken its toll on their Queen, who was growing more impatient by the day to have her revenge for being humiliated so.

A large mountain cave served as their makeshift home, having to get by with too little room for the copious number of subjects Chrysalis had under her control. As the Changeling scout landed and entered the cave, it was greeted by large number of lookalikes that served as the first line of defense for any intruder that was so unfortunate as to wander into the cave. A few exchanges of buzzes and hisses, and the scout was allowed to enter as it quickly flew through chamber after chamber lined with its brethren.

Eventually the Changeling reached deepest chamber of the cave and, unlike the other before it, this chamber was not filled with the shapeshifting bugs. This room was especially reserved for the Queen, covered completely with giant reflective crystals, not unlike those under Canterlot. Very few dared enter and, only if it were absolutely necessary. The Changeling hoped its information was worth an exception. It landed and cautiously approached the turn into the backmost room, sweating bullets with each step it took.

Much of the Hive stopped its buzzing and creeping around the cave walls to watch the lone Changeling enter the royal chamber. The deafening silence only served to unnerve the scout as he realized that all eyes were on it. With a final, hard gulp, the scout turned the corner and found its Queen sitting on her carved crystal throne, almost as if waiting for her subject.

Her narrowed, piercing stare sent shivers down the already nervous scout's spine, chilling the blood coursing through its body. The defeat in Canterlot had made her very much bitter and quick tempered, and she would occasionally be quick to lash out at her subjects. For a minute, the scout considered retreating and running back to the safety of the rest of the Hive, to blend in to hopefully spare itself her wrath.

"Come…" the Queen Changeling addressed the scout in an eerily calm tone. The scout jumped at her sudden order, but not wanting to anger, it obeyed. "Now… Why is it that you have come to the royal chamber?"

The scout hissed and buzzed something only decipherable by another Changeling.

"Ah…" Chrysalis stood, scaring the scout. "It seems that we have finally got our chance to strike back! You have done well to bring this information, my subject. It was about time these ponies pay for their crimes against the Hive!"

The Changeling simply stared at its Queen. It was a strange, slightly disturbing, sight to see her so delighted. The devilish smile on her face frightened her subject and the evil look in her eye was just unnerving.

"I shall personally see to this task!" the Queen announced. "Spread word that I am not to be interrupted while on this mission! In addition, the rest of the Hive shall not undertake any action other than routine scouting… is that clear?"

The Changeling was a bit confused. It was merely a scout, not higher ranking in the Hive by any stretch of the imagination. The others would not obey commands from him, even if it were to announce them under the authority of the Queen.

"IS THAT CLEAR!?" Chrysalis repeated herself, getting the scout to cowardly nod its head. "Well… Go! I must be left alone to plan, if I am to set off as soon as possible!"

The scout immediately flew off to inform the rest of the Hive of their new orders, and to get as far away from the wrathful queen as possible.

* * *

"Ugh…" Spike groaned, tossing and turning in his sleep. He was breaking out into a cold sweat. A swipe from rag spooked the sleeping dragon awake with a gasp. "Twilight?! I had the craziest dream… that you, Applejack and even Rarity…"

Taking a quick look around the room, Spike found all three mares surrounding Twilight's bed. How he got there he did not know; his last memory was the three mares and him at Rarity's boutique. Everything beyond that point was hazy; or that might have been wishful thinking on his part.

"Sorry to tell ya, Spike, but that was no dream…" the work pony told him.

"Yes, darling, it was all very real," Rarity said, stroking the dragon's head to calm him.

"We had no idea you were going to react like that," the purple unicorn said apologetically. "You were out the whole day!"

"So… you mean…" Spike said, beginning again to sweat profusely. He widened the gap between them and himself. Getting a quick glance out the window, he noticed the crescent moon high up in the night sky. Twilight was not lying to him; he had indeed slept through to sundown and then some. But, if that was true, he realized they were probably telling him the truth about his "dream."

"Yes, Spike," the white mare answered. "We all have feelings for you…"

A very deep blush had broke out across the dragon's face from hearing his longtime crush admit this. It was not something he expected, he was so used to the situation being flipped, with him doing the crushing and chasing. In fact, to him, that was half the fun.

This new situation seemed so weird, so foreign to him; he truly thought it to be something out of a dream. Being irresistible and charming were characteristics only his daydreaming-self had; someone all the mares wants to be with. He had never thought of how he would deal with it if he ever did manage to win their hearts over. He always thought that he would cross that bridge when he got to it, but now here he was… and he was far from ready.

"Uh… umm…" Spike stuttered as he found himself at a loss for words.

"It must be a lot to take in, Spike…" Twilight told him, giving the dragon some breathing room, along with the two other mares.

"We should probably be leavin' him alone for now, giv'em some time to think," Applejack whispered to her friends, sans the dragon.

"I do believe you're right, Applejack. The poor thing looks a bit shaken from our little confession," Rarity added. "We were a bit blunt…"

"Ok… I'll go tell him…" the purple unicorn said, heading up the stairs.

"Hold on there, Twilight…" the work pony stopped her as she reached the second step.

"Hmm?" Twilight hummed.

"I think we outta set some ground rules for… well, ya know," Applejack told her, a bit nervously.

"What do you mean?" her unicorn friend asked.

"Well, I got to thinkin'. Spike does live wit' ya and all, we can't help that…" the apple farmer paused, trying not to sound to abrasive. "But I think it would only be fair if y'all don't use magic to win 'im over."

There was a small silence that followed. At first this seemed very accusatory, but it did kind of make sense. Applejack was the only non-magic user in this contest and it put her very much at a disadvantage. Twilight and Rarity both could use magic to do many wondrous things that the lone Earth Pony could never manage with her limited abilities. And not to mention the spells that Twilight had under her belt to force Spike to fall in love with her, though it never came to her mind use them. Gaining his love in such an illegitimate way was not what she wanted nor what Spike would want. However, was it fair for them to be handicapped while Applejack has none placed on her? If things went into a free-for-all as it did before Rarity's arrival, Applejack would clearly have the upper-hand when it came down to literally "stealing" Spike away.

"Ok… No magic," Twilight agreed. "But no interrupting any dates with Spike. Whoever he chooses to spend time with, no stealing him away, ok?"

"A-alright…" Applejack said, blushing a bit as she remembered their immature pre-Rarity contest.

"How about you Rarity?" the unicorn turned to her white counterpart.

"Are these rules _really_ necessary?" Rarity asked back. "I thought everypony could behave _civilly_ without any rules."

"Trust us, Rarity… It could get pretty rowdy out there wit'out 'em…" the work pony answered.

"Alright, then… as long as everypony follows them, I'll follow them too," the fashionista conceded to the newly formed regulations.

"We outta be hittin' the road now, Rarity," Applejack said, heading towards the door. "It's getting' late, we should let 'em get some rest."

Taking their leave, Twilight continued up to her room where they left the dragon to his thoughts. Though it did not help him much. This sudden admittance of their own affections, a stop to the pursuit of the mares, was not something he could wrap his head around. The shock of each mare's confession was huge, but none more than Rarity's. He could not help but wonder how long she had harbored those feelings. Was it long before his crush on Applejack had developed or had she grown jealous of his spending time with her?

Twilight thought of interrupting him, but her worry might do more harm than good. By the expression on his face, it was clear that he was deeply troubled. The longer she stared at him, the stronger the urge became to comfort the confused dragon. It was not only due to her now confessed feelings for him, but also because their long-standing friendship almost demanded her help ease his worries.

"Spike…?" Twilight called him quietly. "Hey there…"

"Twilight, you guys weren't lying… were you?" her reptilian friend asked.

"No, Spike. As far as I know, everyone was sincere about their feelings for you…" the purple unicorn said, inching closer to him.

"Even you?" Spike asked, still doubting this whole situation for a reason he could not quite understand.

"Yes, Spike… Even me…" she responded.

"And this isn't some sort of dream… right?" the nervous-wreck of a dragon continued to question the unicorn.

"Why do you think it's a dream?" Twilight queried him back.

"It seems a little too good to be true…" Spike answered. "I mean, it wasn't too long ago that _you_ told me I didn't have a chance with Rarity. And now…"

"I'm sorry, Spike," the unicorn interrupted. "For everything, I guess… I guess I was a little jealous of Rarity."

"Why?" the dragon quickly asked; she was never one to be jealous of anypony.

"Well, she had you… Didn't you ever wonder why I never wanted to go find a coltfriend?" Twilight questioned.

"I always thought it was because you were too busy studying all the time," Spike naively responded.

"No, it's because you were the only boy I really needed, Spike…" she corrected him. "You were always there for me, helping all the way from when we back in Canterlot to now in Ponyville. Everything from helping me with my studies to wrapping me in a blanket when I would fall asleep during late night research…"

"You remember that?" the dragon asked astonishedly.

"Of course, Spike," Twilight answered. "I took a lot of what you did for granted, and I'm sorry. But from now on, I'll never forget to thank you for all the little things you do for me, I promise, Spike."

Pulling her assistant into a warm embrace, she rubbed her cheek against his. Though she could not see it, Twilight was able to tell he had a deep blush on his face from the heat radiating off his cheek. Although more intimate of a hug or conversation than they ever shared, it felt sweet. It was a large jump from friends to something more, but it did not feel _too_ awkward. In fact, it almost felt like it was just another step in their ever-strengthening bond.

Maybe this little situation was not as dramatic and hurried as the young dragon thought. Perhaps it was called for, and maybe, just maybe, it came just on time.

"Hey, Twilight?" Spike called her.

"Yes?" Twilight asked.

"Thank you…" the dragon said, tightly wrapping his arms around the pony's neck.

"I'm always here for you, Spike," the purple unicorn replied "You know that…"

After holding the embrace for a few minutes, Twilight finally shook free.

"I think we should both get some rest now," she told him. "You've had a pretty long day, even if you weren't awake for half of it…"

"Yeah…" the dragon laughed a bit as he climbed into his basket-bed. "Good night, Twilight."

"Good night," Twilight echoed.

* * *

The dragon lingered awake for a while longer after he knew the pony next to him had fallen to sleep. The thoughts of his relationships with the three mares were still raced through his mind. Although they would definitely not be the same, possibly ever again, it did not necessarily mean it was all that bad. After his talk with Twilight, he was reassured about the whole situation and that he could look to her for support throughout. It helped put his worries to rest, even if only a little. It was enough. Giving one last, long yawn, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.


End file.
